Good Luck out There
by timeel39
Summary: This story of Naruto has Haruno Sakura replaced by Hemae Hasame, a refugee from the Mist with a chilling bloodline. She manages her life in and out of Konohagakure while the rest of the Leaf genin are influenced and guided by the world around them.
1. Chuunin Round 3: The Preliminaries

**A/N **Hello all! Thanks for coming and being interested in my story! This chapter is merely a preface, and takes place in the third round of the chuunin exams. There will be much more substantial chapters upcoming. Sasuke's first battle with Yoroi should be taken verbatim, as should the first two parts of the exam. I'm starting to feel too much like Arthur Miller, so I'm going to go now. Oh, and I don't own Naruto or anything besides Hemae Hasame. And, there will be flashback chapters that explain the past more. I'm doing it again. Thanks to JadeTeaLeaf especially, for beta reading this story, and adding some more substance. Ok, bye for real and happy reading!!

**CHUUNIN ROUND 3: THE PRELIMINARIES**

"What's wrong? Was the battle too hard to follow for you?" Sasuke called up to the balcony.

"Hell, Uchiha! I'd knock your eyes out without your knowing if I didn't have chakra either!"

"Likely, Hemae!" he called up, coughing up some blood. Sasuke still sat on the ground and wiped the liquid off his face, looking down at it.

"You're not about that anymore!" he yelled, accompanied with a strong pain on his neck and in his core.

"What are you talking about? I don't do that crap anymore. You're messed up!"

Hatake Kakashi then helped Sasuke up, much to the surprise of nearly everyone in the fight hall. "Let's go. We can't have you running around like this for too long." Kakashi led Sasuke out of the hall and out of sight.

"That Sasuke really has no way to stop, does he?" Naruto asked, turning to Hasame.

"Hell if I don't have a thing.

"Uzumaki!" she yelled, pointing. "You have to be my witness! No chakra used!" She held a thumb up.

"Good luck with that! Man, once my turn comes I'm going to unleash some madness; beat down on everybody!"

Hasame looked back over at Naruto, and was about to make a comment back when she was interrupted by the computer displaying three words.

'Hemae Hasame v. Kankurou'

"Sucks for her," Kankurou said as he slowly walked towards the stairs.

Hasame still stood at her balcony, looking suspiciously around at everyone else.

Naruto leaned over and whispered to her, which was accompanied by a small nudge to the side.

"Come on!" Kankurou exclaimed, already standing in the center of the hall, and much more annoyed than angry.

"Oh yeah! That's my name!" Hasame blurted, and then slowly made her way to the stairs. She held the railing very carefully, and made her way down step, by step by step.

"I need to make sure I'm in top condition for battle, I can't afford to waste any energy!" She slowly let go of the railing as she reached the bottom, and Hasame then cautiously walked, quite pigeon-toed, towards the center of the hall.

"Hey, you're that annoying girl who was talking to that annoying guy, weren't you? No chakra, good luck."

"For all you know, I could be… Taijutsu!

"That's what it's… I'm a taijutsu master, so suck it." Hasame said, looking at his nose.

"I'll believe you."

"You'll s-see."

"Begin."

**OK!** It's done now, you've suffered through the first chapter and worst. Please review!! Be sure to visit my profile to vote on when Chapter 2 gets released!


	2. Enter: The Sand!

**A/N**Helloo! Welcome to the second chapter of Good Luck out There!! I am glad you still have an interest in this story, I know I don't... but I digress. I have so many things to say! Firstly, I do not own Naruto or anything in here besides Hemae Hasame and her arrogance. I would like to thank three very important people, also: _NeoKyuubi16_ (or as it is listed now) _The New Kyu 16 _(of which I hope the 16 is for Vladimir Konstantinov), and _sensualkidney13 _(of which I hope the 13 is for Pavel Datsyuk) for reviewing! Thanks! And, of course, my wonderful Beta Reader _Jade TeaLeaf _for continued dedication to this story, even after reading it!! Woo! Now, enjoy :D!

**ENTER: THE SAND!**

Both Hasame and Kankurou stood still, staring each other down, beads of sweat forming just above their brows.

Kankurou took the odd burden off his back and rested it on the ground. "That was your first mistake."

"Well what are you going to do?" Hasame licked her lips nervously. "Hit me over the head with that… that… _mummy_ thing of yours?"

Hasame did nothing, still staring, and then stumbled a little forward. She caught herself and stumbled a little backwards, and upon recovering from that, she sprinted forward at high speed, almost like a slingshot.

Kankurou reacted to this smoothly and jumped backwards and to the left. Seeing Kankurou still hanging in midair, Hasame leapt at him. However, her enemy leaned back, contorted backwards to avoid the punch, and swung his left leg upwards, hoping to land a hit.

Hasame saw the blow coming, and shot her right hand down to block it, her dominant left still extended in a fist. She grabbed Kankurou's leg, holding him firm, and swung her left arm in an upward direction, finishing the motion by crashing her elbow down hard.

The sand ninja moved his arms in and blocked it, while simultaneously freeing his leg using leverage from his other leg. He kicked off of her and finally landed on the ground, with Hasame still falling through the air and to the hard concrete wall.

If the dark-clad ninja thought that she would simply crash into the wall like some genin, then he was dead wrong. Stepping lightly against the wall, she quickly maneuvered to her backwards, leaping sideways against the wall to avoid the two kunai thrown at her. Again touching the wall, she pushed off and landed firmly on the ground.

Locked in their new positions, panting slightly, it seemed almost like an imitation of their poses before the battle started. Even their placement was the same, except they were closer to the wall, and two of Kankurou's knives were thrust in the hard concrete wall. They had flipped positions, too, with Hasame being closest to the wall that Kankurou had been closest with, and the likewise with Kankurou to Hasame's wall

Keeping the sand ninja at the corner of her vision, Hasame did her standard check of the surroundings.

'_Let's see – nothing to the right, that's good.' Her eyes shifted to the other side. 'Nothing on the left, either.'_

"Hasame!" it was Naruto's voice screaming down on her. Quickly, she spun around, seeing a black object barreling towards her.

'_Hell! I should've noticed that thing wasn't where he left it!'_

"Hemae Hasame, 13," the 3rd Hokage read off of the file, "we found her as a refugee from the Mist, eh? Too bad we won't get to see her bloodline, here," he was reading the description, "it sounds like a treat to see."

Hasame quickly touched off the ground and then the wall, just barely avoiding a hard collision. Feeling small gravel and debris pelting her, she crossed her arms protectively over her face. She felt her feet skid against the ground and came to a halting stop, nearly tripping in the process. Panting, she looked back at where she came from, only to see a grotesque item hugging the wall like a giant crow.

'_Hell is that thing? Is that a summoning of some sort?..' _

She had no more time to think about the matter, for the object came hurdling towards her, a clickclickclicking of gears sounding from its squared mouth. She gasped as she dodged away, feeling something snag on her upper-right arm. She grimaced as she clapped her hand over the wound.

'_Oh, suck it up, Hasame…'_

She rolled over, and saw the item coming at her again, shooting more senbons at her. She jumped back to her left to avoid them, and the item went back to its master.

"Kankurou, 14… he's one of yours, eh?" The Kazekage nodded. "He's a puppet master; those things are tough to handle. Let's see how he does."

She narrowed her eyes at her opponent and his thing. At least it had come close enough for her to know what it was now— a puppet.

She had read about them but had never actually experienced them. She could also see how Kankurou had his hands situated towards it, confirming her suspicions.

"Like it?" he gloated, his purple tattoos contorting around his face as he sneered. "Its name is Karasu."

Hasame flinched towards Kankurou and saw the puppet's movement – towards her, but not particularly towards the puppeteer.

'_Offensive, not defensive, huh? Well with his hands all tied up with chakra strings, I bet he feels pretty confident with his skills of evasion and puppet handling. Too bad confidence isn't enough to win.'_

Hasame slowly pulled a kunai out of her bag. Instead of the puppet, she saw Kankurou take a different stance. With quick, but careful aim, she threw her weapon at the puppet, and saw Kankurou's protection of the puppet's body with its arm.

It was a close range puppet, seeing as how body space was important. It was probably going to grab her, and the less room between Hasame and the puppet, the better for Kankurou. Suddenly, she saw the puppet move in, its spidery arms poised to grab her. She skipped backwards, half-expecting the contraption to plunge head-first into the ground, but instead, it came towards her at top speed.

She winced as she spun off to the side, the puppet whooshing just past her.

'_Hell! If that thing gets me, the ninja would rush in to finish the kill. I've got to avoid that thing no matter what. But how do I get to the sand ninja?.. His movements have shown that he doesn't work in conjunction with the puppets; he doesn't coordinate attacks with himself and that puppet simultaneously. That means I can't attack both at once; one would hold back and they wouldn't be found close to one another…hell, it means I can't attack the puppet without Kankurou._

'_But if I attack the sand ninja, then the puppet wouldn't be able to follow me as close. It would still follow me, but if I can just move fast enough… I'm going to have to isolate that guy, but I'll have to break his wooden piece of crap first!'_

Hasame went from a standstill to a full sprint, straight at the puppet. The puppet's arms reached out to grab her, and she dropped to the ground for a kick. She slid under the puppet as it reached down. As the contraption was just above her, she pushed off the ground with her right foot, springing upwards to give it a slapping kick to its chin.

As it flew straight up, Kankurou sent a kick aiming for Hasame's stomach. The leaf ninja couldn't help but grin.

She had seen Kankurou advance when she slid at the puppet, and had leapt off the ground a little. She then touched base on Kankurou's leg, and propelled herself farther up. She came up behind the puppet, and placed a forceful kick squarely on its back, the force bringing her and the puppet away from each other at the same rate. Hasame planted herself on the wall, relatively high up, and brought herself down.

Kankurou noted the puppet's current momentum and how it would be much stronger than his own. He saw Hasame staring at the ground, preparing to land. His puppet bent backwards, seeking the ground before it curved up again and used Hasame's own strength to fight her. She glanced up just in time to see her plan staring herself in the face, and she ducked.

Kankurou screamed as if he had just been smashed apart, but mostly because Hasame's fist hit his stomach after she sped towards him. Her right subsequently made contact, followed by another from her left. Kicks were sent in a flurry too, and with an audible slam, Kankurou lay on the ground much like his puppet, only intact.

The crowd held its breath as Hasame stood rooted to the spot, panting from exhaustion. She bent her legs, as if expecting her enemy to spring up and attack her with twice the vigor. Her bleeding arm was not too pleasing at the moment, either. Finally, the leaf ninja gave a polite cough before he spoke.

"Since her opponent is unable to fight, I declare the winner to be Hemae Hasame."

"Why thank you, proctor." Hasame looked at him innocently, but grabbing her right arm.

Gekkou Hayate looked back, then to the computer as the medics picked up the crippled, twitching body of Kankurou. They carried him off as the computer gave its next verdict.

**YOU **made it! One more done! You actually had the patience to read it through! Congrats, reader, I acknowledge your perseverance. Please review, for the children... See you next time!


	3. Rematch: Leaf v Sound!

**A/N** Hello, and welcome to Good Luck out There, an Naruto fanfic. I was rather disappointed with the turnout of the last chapter, but that's no one's fault but mine own. Hopefully this one's better - the third chapter! I would like to give all of my thanks to the one and only _Jade TeaLeaf_! My fantastic Beta Reader! I don't own Naruto or anything in this chapter, except for Hemae Hasame and her indifference. Enjoy!

**REMATCH: LEAF V. SOUND!**

There was a collected hush in the room as everyone stared at the ever-changing screen, the breath being sucked right out of the atmosphere.

_Beep._

'Rock Lee v. Abumi Zaku'

"ALL RIGHT!!!" Rock Lee leapt off the balcony and landed on the ground, standing tall with confidence.

"Be careful, Lee! Make me proud!"

"You can do it Lee!"

"Try not to die too bad."

"Oh Gai-Sensei, Tenten, Neji, you are all I could ask for! I will make you all so proud!"

"Um… alright, I'll just go now, I guess," Hasame mumbled to herself.

With an air of victory, she walked back over to the stairs, up one by one, and made to the balcony, next to Naruto.

"Hey, make sure Uchiha knows I did that, can you do that?"

"Sure! You were awesome out there! I can't wait until my turn!"

"No one can, Naruto."

Zaku walked down, to the center of the arena. "You're that kid from the forest!"

"The one and the same! I will not lose this time, for your friends are not here to aid you."

"I don't need them; you're sensitive to sound! Supersonic waves, 100%, air pressure, 0%. He held his arms in his slings, taking a defensive stance. "Now, you suffer."

"Calm down," Hayate announced. "Now, begin."

"What was the point of that, proctor? We were both ready."

"Then fight!" Rock Lee yelled, taking stance. He held his right arm in front of him, his left tucked behind his back. He stood tall, and curved his right hand up at the end, palm facing him.

Zaku scowled. He screamed and unleashed his cannon, his arms just hanging in their houses.

The horrible, screeching sound was everywhere. Lee still hadn't fully recovered from the incident in the second part of the exam. He felt a little fazed from the sound, but it seemed not to have the same effect.

The Handsome Beast of Konoha stumbled around; struggling away, he ran towards the opposite wall of Zaku. The sound ninja followed suit.

The sound was stronger near Zaku, and that was saying something considering that everyone on the balcony was covering their ears. Lee had reached the wall, and sprinted towards his opponent. He was getting slower as he got closer, and Zaku had time to dodge the kick made by the eye-closed Lee, who severely felt the pain in his head. It was as bad as ever, as bad as the first.

"They seem familiar with each other, this fight should be interesting. Rock Lee, 13, he has no ninjutsu or genjutsu skills, strictly taijutsu…trust me, Yondaime, the Leaf has chakra."

"Ay, Sondaime."

"Abumi Zaku, 14, an Otogakure boy. He has tubes in his arms, huh…"

Zaku sent a leg up to Lee, who was able to deflect it and throw one back at his enemy, who also dodged. Lee was squinting, and found it hard to move effectively. He tried to focus, and looked around. To him, it seemed that Zaku was holding back, focusing all his energy on his sound cannons. Lee crossed his arms, and looked at Zaku.

'_He can't keep this going for long,'_ Lee thought, staring intensely at Zaku.

The sound ninja began to laugh, a coarse, bitter sound.

"Lee! You have to move! Don't try to outwait him!" the leaf ninja heard his sensei's shouts.

"But I can, Gai-Sensei!" In response, Gai threw a clenched fist in the air as he shouted down passionately.

"No! I did not spend my time to give you the energy of your youth to have you wait!"

"Gai-Sensei! I am so sorry! I will do you proud!" Lee said tearfully.

"I believe in you, Lee!" He shouted, giving his wink, a thumbs-up, and that trademark grin he was so proud of.

Zaku laughed harder at the sight before him, the two crying freaks. He fell backwards, and started crying himself.

"That goes for you, too, Zaku. Do not waste what you have been given."

Zaku looked up at the source of the voice. "I'm sorry. I'll finish this quickly, so I can get to him for you."

"Yes, you will."

Zaku stood up and steadied himself. The noise had stopped, but Lee knew that it was starting soon.

Everyone on the balcony seemed bored with this, and watched with a lack of interest, if they watched at all.

Lee took stance again, and looked into the eyes of his opponent.

Zaku took a step back and held his arms in front of him, but still hanging.

"Leaf Hurricane!" Lee came out of nowhere, above Zaku.

His opponent ducked to avoid the kick, but he didn't manage to dodge the second one which hit him in the chin. He made one full clockwise turn backwards, and Lee sent a kick into his stomach that sent him upwards, and then a left heel in the back sent Zaku down hard. Zaku pulled out his left arm and caught his fall, spinning himself around to hit him, but Lee quickly grabbed the Sound Ninja's leg and pivoted around to hit him. Desperately, Zaku left his post on the ground to catch Lee. They both hit the ground and Lee rolled away, jumping to his feet and away.

Zaku pointed his left arm at Lee. "Sound Cutter!"

Lee felt the sound penetrate his ear, all of it being directed at him. He grabbed his head and screamed. He staggered to the left, falling to the ground.

"I… I cannot see straight…" he muttered through clenched teeth.

Lee slammed his eyelids shut, and stood up. His left eye opened a crack, and he saw Zaku's arm about ready to hit him.

Swiftly, he ducked and spun, hitting Zaku with a finishing kick in the stomach. Zaku's sound stopped with that, and Lee was able to wrench open his right eye, too. Zaku was still in recoil, and Lee pulled out another Leaf Hurricane. The first kick connected, and his adversary fell sideways over, landing squarely on Lee's right leg, sending him right back up to the air. Lee grabbed the ground, but only for a second to propel himself towards his into the air as well. Lee came up behind Zaku and threw his bandages around him.

"Crap!" the sound ninja choked out as he struggled against the bonds. _"This is what could've taken Dosu down in the forest!"_

Lee grabbed on to the wrapped-up Zaku, and started to spin him back down.

Everyone watched the spinning blur of Lee's jutsu, and everyone heard the high-pitched screech of Zaku's weapons, and the ground collected the impact.

Lee landed flat on his back, holding his head, and Zaku landed flat on his head, his bandaged hands holding his back. Blood was coming out of Lee's ears, and Zaku's, too. The Sound Ninja's form fell over, and Lee's rolled, kicking up dust behind him.

All was quiet again as everybody held their breath.

"Hey, what gives? A tie? C'mon Bushy Brows!" Naruto shouted, his hands cupping around his mouth. Immediately, Hasame's hand was clamped over his mouth.

"Hell!" she hissed.

Perfectly timed, slowly but surely, Lee picked himself up and stumbled about, still grabbing his throbbing ears.

Hayate walked over to the lump of Zaku on the ground, and picked up his head. Zaku's forehead was smashed in, and his nose was badly damaged.

"His opponent is unable to fight. I declare the winner of this preliminary match to be Rock Lee."

"WHAT?" Lee screamed, squinting at Hayate.

"YOU WON, LEE!" Maito Gai yelled back from the balcony.

"WHAT? I WON?"

"YES!"

"THANK YOU, GAI-SENSEI! I COULD NOT HAVE DONE IT…"

"Will you two find somewhere else to get sentimental? People need to use that field to fight," Neji said pointedly, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall, his left foot planted on it as well.

"PDA!" Kiba seemed to be very proud of his joke. Naruto was the only other one as he used the balcony for life support while laughing.

"In the room, the women come and go…" Hasame mumbled.

Lee looked up at Neji, and then staggered over to the staircase, but not after an attempt to jump to the balcony. The crippled body of Zaku was carried out, and Lee was not far behind the medics. He apparently failed to make the turn to the stairs, though, and walked, nay stumbled into the wall.

"Maybe we could give you a little help, too," the medics said, looking at the disheveled form of Lee, rubbing his head.

"I guess… it would not hurt, would it?"

The medic threw an arm around Lee's shoulder and guided him out.

"Wow, Hemae," Naruto murmured as he stared at the victorious—but still battered—ninja. "That fight really took it out on him. Look at him. He can barely walk."

"I guess I got off pretty lucky then," she replied with a shrug.

"I… guess so."

"Oh well," she shrugged, leaning on the balcony. "Let the carnage continue."

**FANTASTICALLY** made it through another chapter, well done, reader! I'm amazed you still click on the title, let alone read to the end of the chapter. Well, all that's behind us now. If you would be so kind, please review, to end illegal underground dog fights. Bye for now!!


	4. Leaf Nins: 7 v 10!

**A/N **Hello again! You are still here, wow... anyway, I still didn't get any reviews on the last chapter, and I'm hoping this one generates some. So, welcome to the fourth chapter of Good Luck out There, and you are more than welcome to read, reread, critique, read again, and finally swear at me and give up all hope of my writing abilities! I would like to give sincerest thanks to _Jade TeaLeaf _for Beta Reading, and I would like to say that I don't own Naruto or anything else in here except for Hemae Hasame and her melodramatic enthusiasm. Enjoy!

**LEAF NINS: 7 V. 10!**

The blood was scrubbed up from the ground, and the ground itself repaired as much as possible where the body of Zaku once lay.

The computer was then called upon once more.

'Uzumaki Naruto v. Akimichi Chouji'

"Hell yeah!" Naruto's voice was highly distinguishable from the rest, along with Hasame's voice cheering him on.

"Go out there and kick ass, Naruto!"

However, Chouji was far less enthusiastic about his big match.

"Oh…"

"Don't worry about it Chouji, you can handle yourself," Shikamaru said, clapping a hand over his shoulder.

"I hope so… Ugh… my stomach doesn't feel so good… Maybe I should just sit it out instead…"

"You know," Ino said in her best innocent voice, "I think I heard him call you a fatass earlier."

"WHAT?!"

"Oi Hasame, what's he yelling about?" Naruto asked, confused as ever.

"Probably some food thing," she shrugged. "Now go out there and make our team 3 for 3!"

Chouji glared over at Naruto, and in return, he received a puzzled look. The air was suddenly tight and crackling with tension. Naruto felt himself swallow dryly as he traveled down the stairs, keeping his eyes on his opponent. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they were both standing at the center of the field, ready to start pounding each other to oblivion.

'_Boy,'_Naruto felt his heart quicken. _'This is more stressful than it really looks.'_

"FATASS!" Ino shouted down.

"SHUT UP, INO!" Chouji was getting ready to vent his anger at the one person to whom he was allowed.

"What is with all of the yelling today?" Neji asked Tenten, who flirtily shrugged away the comment.

"Now, if both of you are ready—"

"I WILL KILL YOU!"

"—then begin."

"EXPANSION JUTSU: HUMAN BOULDER!" Chouji tucked into a turtle-shell-like ball and cannoned towards Naruto.

However, his opponent stood his ground against the ball as it came barreling towards him. Chouji advanced quickly, but not quite as fast as he could've, since his chakra level wasn't nearly at its highest. Naruto dodged around the ball, looking for a way to attack as Chouji continued to chase him. He had to make a big looping circle to turn. By then, Naruto was already losing his patience.

'_Damn it Chouji! If you're gonna hit me, just hit me already! You're too slow to catch up to me, but always too close for me to stop and attack! Just do something different already!.. Never mind, I'll take matters into my own hands then.'_

"We all know him, Uzumaki Naruto, 12. Let's see, apart from the Kyuubi he's just an average ninja."

In what seemed like one motion, Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it at the giant ball, hoping to make an impact. However, the knife bounced off pitifully. Upon the kunai's planting in the ground, Chouji popped out of his form, panting.

"Akimichi Chouji, 13, he's known for the Akimichi's size and power. He's been called dull, but I don't trust rumors." Hiruzen put down the files and watched the match.

****

The two looked intensely at each other before Naruto charged. He pulled a kunai out of his pouch – clutching the handle in such a way that the blade stuck out below his hand, stabbing-fashion; it was held up to his chest horizontally, but slightly in front, however, as this was not a stabbing position. He could feel the slam of every footstep against the hard ground resonated throughout his body; he felt the ground urging him on, pushing him forward towards Chouji.

The two looked intensely at each other before Naruto charged. Chouji pulled back a few steps, observing how Naruto was going to handle the situation. He concluded that it would be best to calculate Naruto's speed and to see how this would play out. Seeing how Naruto was gaining speed, a kunai positioned in his hand, Chouji decided that now was the time to act. In one swift motion, he pulled a few shuriken out of his pack and threw them decidedly.

****

Noting the weapons speeding towards him, Naruto shifted his weight to throw him to the left, releasing his kunai before his roll._ 'Heh. Even the Hokage couldn't do better!'_He never felt uncomfortable on the ground, no joints in inopportune locations. A sight of Chouji had been kept through the roll, and as he saw the chubby ninja turn his back, Naruto had the time and the space to reach back into his sack and pull a kunai out, already fitted with a paper bomb. The bomb was activated as Naruto pulled out of his roll and threw it at Chouji's back, his fingernail trailing along the side of the paper bomb, triggering the release on the seal placed on the explosion. It was a trick he had picked up from Kakashi.

Chouji saw the shuriken stay the path of justice, but Naruto didn't as he dove right. The kunai that Chouji had seen Naruto ready before the roll had been thrown. Chouji was off-balanced from his shuriken throw, however, and the most logical of his options seemed to roll on his own. He continued the momentum created on his left foot by the turn to watch Naruto, and picked it up off the ground, ever so slightly. He spun around clockwise, getting lower to the ground as his legs grew farther apart. He realized that this probably wasn't the best idea as he couldn't stop, but he had seen the kunai fly over his left shoulder, well on its way to elsewhere.

****

Chouji then moved all of his own weight forward, when his legs were no longer moving apart and his back was directly at Naruto, if not a little to the left. Chouji was in the middle of his roll forwards when he heard the kunai above him, on its path to missing. Unfortunately for Chouji, though, the paper bomb on the side that had already been tripped had something else in mind. The bomb blew only a foot to the zenith of Chouji's backside. The roll had been stopped in its tracks, and Chouji contorted, looking very pained and awkward at the way of the blast. He had been sent straight downwards, not a good thing when you are pinned against the ground. His legs were still spread wide, and that attributed to some extra pain the Chouji was experiencing. After a moment of stunned silence and sitting, Chouji finished the roll. His legs came together in the air and snapped shut against the ground. He was a perfect example of a victim killed in the supine position.

"Oh, shit." Ino broke the silence and grabbed the balcony in her hands as she cautiously peered over.

Hayate made his way over to the limp form of Chouji, and felt his pulse. "He's still alive. Hell, he's even conscious." Chouji made a whimper at that. "You ok to keep going?"

Chouji whimpered, yet again.

"This fight's over. The winner is Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto was still too stunned to be happy that he had won his match. He saw Chouji slowly sit up, rubbing the bottom of his back. Naruto still felt cold from thinking that he had killed a man; no, Chouji. Chouji was his friend.

"Hey Uzumaki, you coming up anytime soon?" Hasame called down from the balcony. The words seemed far and distant, but after a second the made sense to him.

"Yeah, sorry." Naruto ran over to the stairs and back up them, towards Hasame.

The stretcher was taken out to Chouji, but he stubbornly refused. He stood up and made his own way, making sure no medic helped him. Naruto watched with a feeling of coldness behind his neck when Chouji pulled himself up the staircase by way of railing. Naruto looked away and held his head down as Chouji walked directly behind him, leaving behind an air of familiarity. Chouji was met up with by Ino and Shikamaru and they helped walk him back to their spot by Asuma.

Hasame poked Naruto hard in the ribs, with a smile.

Naruto looked up at her, and then back down towards the center of the hall.

Hasame frowned and leaned back over the balcony.

The computer ne'er failed at its job, and this was no exception.

**HOW **was that, my faithful, o! faithful reader! I am so glad that you have read _yet another_ of my chapters! Now, please be kind and review, all of the profits (if any) go to pro-choiceand/or pro-life causes. Thank you, and goodbye!


	5. Comrades Turned Enemies

**A/N** Welcome to the fifth installment of Good Luck out There!! I'm very proud of all of you who have come to see this off. Chapter 4 had a record-setting perormance of hits for this story at 40! I need to take my victories when they pass. I still didn't get any reviews, and I would like to say that anything is welcome. Constructive criticism is just used to make the fanfic better for you! So, without further ado, I would like to thank the infinitely fantastic _Jade TeaLeaf_ for the ever-so-helpful critiques, and_ Your Name Here_ for reviewing! This quality wouldn't have been possible without _Your Name Here_, and I would like to send out my most sincere thanks! So, read this chapter, let me know what you think, and then check back every day to curse me for not uploading the next chapter yet! I would like to say that I don't own Naruto or anything in here besides Hemae Hasame and her non-presence.

**COMRADES TURNED ENEMIES**

'Inuzuka Kiba v. Tenten' were the yellow words displayed on that dark screen.

"Yes! Let's do this, Akamaru!"

"Yay, it's my turn!" Tenten smiled playfully, looking at Neji.

"You'll do fantastic. Don't let that dog guy get you."

Tenten leaned over and pecked Neji on the cheek, Tenten blushing. She quickly made it down to the center. As Tenten was approaching the stairs, Neji himself blushed and looked slightly left, away from Tenten; he wasn't about to blush in front of her.

"Hey, did you see that? Where's my kiss, Hinata?"

"Oh! Umm, well, I…"

"Ha, relax, I was kidding. Stop being so nervous at everything."

"How would you feel?"

Kiba looked at Shino. He continued to think about that comment as he walked down to the center, standing staggered from Tenten.

"Begin."

Tenten was not in the off-center of the arena, as Kiba was, she was strategically placed, perfect to attack or defend, in any direction, should Kiba try. Kiba pulled Akamaru out of his jacket and set him on the ground, to Tenten's left, and to Kiba's right.

Tenten was fearful of this; she knew that Akamaru was capable of fighting, and she wasn't sure if she could hold off two opponents at the same time. _'Damn, why couldn't I have that puppet clown? These two attack independently.'_ Kiba did look a little preoccupied, though. His eyes had an emptiness, a thoughtful emptiness behind them. Kiba was looking at Tenten, into her eyes. He seemed to be looking past her, not quite through her but at her. She found herself mesmerized by this. She felt her own mind grabbing her body as she started to look through Kiba. Her own eyes drifted past Kiba, through him as well. It was so relaxing; she was at ease. Tenten didn't want to move. Her relaxing, however, was broken by a bite to the arm. Tenten screamed and stumbled backwards, Akamaru's milky white teeth still embedded in her left arm. Frantically, she tried to shake it loose, but to no avail. Akamaru was biting harder, getting a better grip with every swipe. A kunai struck Tenten in the right shoulder. She screamed again and ripped it out of her, using a right hand on a contorted right arm. She stabbed at Akamaru, who let go before she could plunge the blood-soiled metal into his flesh. Tenten caught a glimpse of another kunai thrown at her from Kiba, and jumped back-up-and-left. She was traveling away from her opponent, as opposed to Akamaru. He was going back to Kiba, seemingly to regroup and come up with another plan. Tenten landed and threw Kiba's kunai back at him, not looking in his eyes.

'_Damn! He must have a genjutsu talent or something!' _

The kunai was blocked by another of Kiba's, which he still held in his hand. Tenten silently cursed, for she could not throw as hard or have as good as accuracy as before with her injured shoulder above her dominant right hand. Tenten pulled out another kunai, and held it close. Kiba fed something to Akamaru, and he turned a brownish color before transforming into a second Kiba. Tenten had never seen an animal able to transform before, let alone into a ninja.

"Inuzuka Kiba, 12, and his dog, Akamaru, they excel in their speed and taijutsu abilities. Oh, he's one of Kurenai's students."

'_Dammit. He must've fed that mutt a chakra-enhancing pill. That's gotta be it…' _She swallowed nervously as she witnessed Kiba eat one himself. '_They're going to attack me at once, aren't they?'_ She put away her kunai and grabbed a scroll with her right hand, one that was attached to her waist, on the left. Tenten tended not to listen to others when they yelled jutsu. She didn't know why, but she felt that she could react to something better without seeing it as a special ability. _'Here they come.'_ Tenten smirked.

Kiba and Akamaru started to spin at a very high speed, and they shot straight at Tenten. She pulled on the scroll as hard as she could, with her right hand. Her left hand was positioned behind her, and ran across the scroll as it wrapped itself around her. Spiked balls were being summoned and staying in place on the scroll, as it covered almost her entire body. Kiba and Akamaru struck Tenten's body at the same time on opposite sides, sending her upward. The scroll was acting as a partial shield to the detached maces, but they still left bruises from the pressure as the duo hit her. She flew in the air, arching, and spinning a little counter-clockwise. The scroll and its maces poofed away, and she cautiously made her landing about 10 feet behind her starting point. Her brown buns bounced slightly as she saw Kiba and Akamaru bleeding in front of her. She smirked, and grabbed another scroll.

The bodies of Kiba and Akamaru, previously remaining static, vanished as well in a cloud of smoke. Tenten stood straight in concern, and felt the ground breaking behind her. She spun around her left foot in time to see Kiba and Akamaru coming at her. She bent her knee and pushed off the ground, avoiding the spinning flurry on the right, and threw a left arm in front of her to catch the one on the left, the one who did not strike the ground. It deflected off to her right, but her forearm now had a long cut spanning the length from her elbow to her wrist. She touched off the ground, barely landing with her right foot, and threw her body hard to her left to miss the previous Kiba, whom she figured to be Akamaru. She landed on her left foot, and looked up to see Kiba barreling down. She had both her feet on the ground, and shot herself backwards. She pulled backwards into a spin while letting the scroll still in her right hand unroll. Tenten landed, crouched on her right knee, and pulled a kunai, slashing her thigh lightly as she did, to get her blood on it. She threw it, traversing the scroll to its entirety, and making a cut down the middle. The scroll recognized the blood as its own, and activated. Weapons appeared, ranging the entire span of ninja arsenal, from scythes to flails. The tools flew in all directions, aiming to destroy everything in their path; everything besides Tenten, of course. She stood tall and witnessed her scroll at work, though Kiba and Akamaru were not to be found. A noise was heard though, a hissing behind Tenten.

'_Damn, a smoke bomb?'_

The smoke filled her vision, coming from the behind, and more were thrown as Tenten heard the small explosions from all around.

"Tenten, 13, she's another Gai product. She's a little more rounded, but is also fast." The third watched over the fight with interest.

A kunai flew at her head, from the right. Tenten heard the whipping noise and stumbled backwards, seeing the knife stay its path, just in front of her face.

'_Damn! I have to get out of this cursed place!'_

Tenten threw her arms up, guarding her head, and ran full speed. She could see, her eyes peaked above her arms, and her eyes were squinting as the smoke irritated them. She made it out of the smoke and spun a 180º, and pulled her crossed arms down to shield her bosom.

"Man-beast mimicry! Fang over fang!"

'_What the hell was that?..'_

Kiba and Akamaru were now back in their tunneling form, and flew out of the smoke aimed at the kunoichi. She jumped as high as she could backwards, and closed her eyes at the impact. She was berated with pebbles, and landed, looking to her front. No one was to be seen, and Tenten stood up straight. She looked around panicky but was not able to for long as two spinning ninja struck her from behind. Her tearing flesh and breaking ankles were painful enough, but the two Kibas felt the need to drive her up high and hard back down into the ground.

There was a flurry of gravel as the fighters struck the ground. Gasping, everyone leaned forward, eager to see what would come out of this collision. Then, as the dust settled and thinned, two figures were visible, standing proudly while another was slumped to the ground.

Hayate walked over to the bloody, limp body of Tenten, two holes making the back of her shirt very red. "His opponent is unable to fight. The winner is Inuzuka Kiba."

Kiba smiled but held his badly injured right shoulder in his left hand. Akamaru was now a dog again, and was sprawled out on the floor, panting. Kiba picked him up with his left hand, and made it back up to the balcony, holding Akamaru close.

Two medics carried Tenten out on a stretcher, and Neji watched on. "Damn shame. She shouldn't have let her guard down while in the air. She could've noticed the movement."

**ANOTHER **chapter has been ravaged by your judging eyes! Let me know if it stood up to the test by reviewing! What do I need to work on, what looks good, just let me know! Well, until next time, this has been _timeel39._ So long!


	6. The Lazy and the Quiet

**A/N** Here is chapter 6 of Good Luck out There! I thank you for your continued support of my story, but I wish that someone could review and let me know what could be better! Now, I would like to thank the amazingly awesome _Jade TeaLeaf_ for beta reading, and letting me know what I was doing wrong, and what I could do to make it better. All the input and changes have just made this story better, so thank you so much! I do not own Naruto or anything in here besides Hemae Hasame and her mindless spectating. Now, without futher ado, here is the next chapter of Good Luck out There!

**THE LAZY AND THE QUIET**

The hall was cleaned, once again.

'Hyuuga Hinata v. Nara Shikamaru'

"Damn, I guess it's my turn."

"Don't be all retarded out there like Chouji, ok? Be like Sasuke…" Ino trailed off, staring off into the distance.

"Sure thing, floozy," Shikamaru mumbled to himself as he walked towards the stairs, hands in pockets. Asuma chuckled upon hearing this and watched Shikamaru down to the center of the arena.

Hinata was hanging over the edge of the balcony, not paying attention. She had watched the medics carry off Kiba's victim, and after they had left her vision, she fuzzed out, looking at the door. The footsteps of Kiba did not register in her mind, even when he walked up next to her.

"Hey, Hinata, you're up."

Hinata was still blank as she slowly looked up at Kiba, who was looking back at her, still holding the mace-ridden shoulder. "Oh!" she squeaked, when she realized what Kiba had said. She looked over at the screen, and saw her name in big, yellow letters. "Um, thanks! You were good down there." Hinata ran off towards the stairs to face her adversary. She made it down to the center and stood before Shikamaru.

"So, you guys were just going to let her stay up here?" Kiba quizzed at Shino and Kurenai.

"Hey, that's what we have you for." Kurenai turned her head and blew out her smoke. Shino turned himself and walked away, to be alone with his bugs and his thoughts. He enjoyed them both.

Kiba sighed, and leaned lazily against the balcony to watch and cheer on his teammate.

Hinata stood nervously in front of Shikamaru.

'_This is lucky; our talents are no contest. I was practically trained to fight just her.'_ Shikamaru smirked.

"Begin."

"Here we have another one of Asuma's students − Nara Shikamaru, 12. He's supposedly the smartest of the genin here, even more so than Kinuta Dosu." The Fourth was leafing through the papers he held in his hand. "He uses shadow techniques as the Nara name suggests, so this should be good."

Shikamaru knelt down, keeping an eye on his opponent. He made his hand sign, and his shadow advanced towards Hinata. She took a step back, and ran around it, around Shikamaru. 'I just need to keep moving, so it can't hit me.' The shadow followed Hinata, fording her to retreat. Shikamaru canceled his jutsu, and stood up.

'_Damn, I can't do this.'_

Hinata stopped, too, and looked at Shikamaru.

'_This is helpless, I need to do something.'_

"You ok over there; you worn out at all?" Shikamaru looked at Hinata, pulling a kunai out of his pack.

"N-no, I… just"

"I understand. I don't really want to be down here either."

"Well, I…"

"Just give up; this fight has to end eventually."

"No! I mean, I c-couldn't do that…"

Shino watched from his perch, narrowing his eyes.

"As you like it." Shikamaru threw his kunai, aimed at Hinata's arm. She stumbled backwards-left, avoiding it. "Damn."

Hinata spread her legs to a power stance, and held her hands together. She made as many hand signs as she could, but had to move again due to the onslaught of kunai. She stumbled almost gracefully to avoid the five staggered kunai. She held her balance and pulled out her own kunai, looking up and throwing it a foot wide of Shikamaru. He once again pulled out his shadow, but before his hand sign was made, Hinata started to form her own. "Byakugan!"

"Here we have a Hyuuga, most famous for their Doujutsu − the Byakugan. She's the heiress, but it appears she's not as skilled as Hyuuga Neji, the prodigy standing just over there." The Hokage pointed to Neji, who was leaning against a wall.

Her eyes took form, and she retreated from the approaching shadow. Hinata pulled more kunai out, holding two in her hand. She threw them at the ground in front of Shikamaru.

'_She can't bring herself to hit me.'_

Hinata looked at Shikamaru with her eyes. '_I shouldn't waste my chakra… These are doing me no good. He has no fast attacks or special jutsu…'_ Hinata's eyes retreated.

'_Damn, I need to finish this.' _Shikamaru held his hands tight and focused. His shadow zipped back to him, then straight at Hinata with speed unseen. She gasped and jumped backwards and in the air. Shikamaru smirked. He stood tall, and as Hinata landed she was already in his grasp. "Shadows don't leave the ground."

Hinata realized her defeat. She couldn't break it, and there was no limit as to what he could do with her in his control. "I w-withdraw…"

Shikamaru released his dark hold.

"I declare this fight over. Nara Shikamaru is the winner."

"Yeah! You kick ass, Shika!" Ino screamed from the balcony.

"Just shut up, for once in your life…" Shikamaru mumbled to himself, as he walked, hands in pockets, to the stairs.

Hinata stood still, twiddling her thumbs, and looked down at the ground.

"Hey, Hinata, come on up." Kiba was still leaned over the balcony. "Come on."

Shikamaru was already standing next to Ino and Chouji when Hayate approached Hinata. "Excuse me, but we need this for fighting. You need to leave the arena." Hinata looked up at Hayate, and walked up the stairs, slowly, one by one.

**AND **it's over, just like that! Now, please let me know how you feel about this chapter, and suggestions about how I can make Good Luck out There better! So, continue to check back to check for more chapters, and I'll see you all next time!!!


	7. More than Meets the Eye

**A/N **Good day to you all! This story is progressing fantastically! I love all of my devoted fans! I thank each and every one of you for checking in to read my story, and I hope this chapter does not disappoint! I would like to thank those who reviewed, but no one has, yet! Come on people, rip into me if you have to, just let me know how I'm doing and what you would like to see! I do have one specific person to thank, though: _Jade TeaLeaf_!! The one and only _Jade TeaLeaf_ for beta reading my story and letting me know what to do to reach out to my readers better! _*hint: just try doing that*_ So read and enjoy, and then review! I do not own Naruto or anything in here besides Hemae Hasame and her pain! Until next time, faithful fan!

**MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE**

The computer displayed another matchup.

'Yamanaka Ino v. Hyuuga Neji'

Hinata paused on the stairs, looking up at the screen.

"Well, looks like you're up now. Good luck." Shikamaru said, looking at Ino.

"Yeah… My turn…" Ino had a worried look in her eyes.

"Don't worry about it, you can take him," Shikamaru reassured her.

"Thanks, Shika." Ino walked downstairs.

Neji followed Ino with his eyes, until her path converged with Hinata's static one.

"Excuse me!" Hinata squeaked as Ino squeezed by her, and then she ran up to the balcony. Neji watched Hinata to the top, then down to see Ino looking back up at her.

"Feel free to come on down any time, Neji."

Neji closed his eyes and breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, and then kicked off the wall. He walked solemnly to the stairs and down to the arena, and squared up with Ino.

Hayate looked at the two fighters. "Begin."

"Byakugan." Neji calmly focused his eyes at the kunoichi._ 'I hope this fight will be as easy as I think it will be.'_

'_Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit! Why Neji? Shit. I need to do something here…'_

"Well, this looks familiar…a Hyuuga versus one of Asuma's students. Let's see here − Yamanaka Ino, 12. She doesn't appear too strong, but she's smart. This won't be that big of a fight, though," Sandaime Hokage said, as he pulled another file. "Hyuuga Neji, 13. He's extraordinary on paper, and has been called the best of all the Hyuuga. Let's see if these hold up."

"What the hell? There hasn't been a good match since Bushy Brows and that freak. This'll be a blowout!" Naruto bellowed.

"Talking of Michelangelo…" Hasame finished.

"You know what, Naruto, SHUT UP!"

"Please…" Neji drawled, still with a headache from the previous yelling. He now had his withdrawn eyes shut, rubbing his temples.

The Yamanaka heiress looked back over at him, and saw his vulnerable form. She quickly took a kunai out of her bag and threw it, with wavering aim and unseen speed, at him. Neji had heard the familiar clink of battle, and glanced up in time to dodge the kunai knife, by a leap to the left. _'I should never have…'_ he started to think, but was cut off by ducking to avoid another knife and jumping to his up-right for reasons of two more. He activated once again his keen eyesight and landed smoothly, knocking a kunai from the air with a swift knock of his hand.

'_Shit.'_

Neji pulled kunai and shuriken of his own, and readied at the blonde.

Ino had an idea spark in her head, and took a defensive stance. She let out the most piercing scream she could, almost audible only to a select few animals.

"Hell!" Hasame screamed, and some other obscenities were thrown from among the balcony.

Neji dropped his weapons, but his eyes remained intact. _'I need to get her moving, I need to get her to breathe, make it an utmost necessity.'_

Neji sprinted full out at Ino, making her scream for real. Ino buckled down and ceased her wretched screech, pulling a knife and preparing it in her right hand. Neji reached the girl and threw a palm hard at her stomach, focused at a chakra point that would stop nearly all movement.

Yamanaka dropped to her left knee and moved in with her knife. She nearly caught his hand, but his right contorted around hers and knocked the knife out, downwards. She had stopped his movement, so he thrust his momentum to his left palm which in turn was sent at her right shoulder. She completed her drop and fell to her knees and managed a duck at the chakra-pulsing hand.

'_He's holding back, he thinks he can beat me and ration some chakra. Shit, I hate attitudes like his.'_

Ino positioned onto her very tip toes, and pushed as hard as she could, sending her barreling backwards, avoiding a right hand that broke the ground a little as it hit. Neji looked up at her.

'_Shit, I hate those eyes of his…they're creepy…'_

Ino landed with utter grace and steadied for the onslaught of palms she knew to be coming.

Neji had almost caught up to Ino by the time she had landed. Ino unbalanced on her left foot, purposely so she could use her own gravity for her. Neji's right palm sent at Ino's throat was cut off by a right foot speeding in front of it, nearly hitting. Neji needed more than that to catch him, but Ino knew about his respectability 'problem.'

Ino's ass stared Neji in the face, and he sure as hell wasn't going to send a left hand into it. He recoiled slightly, himself stopping his motion. Ino then pushed with her right hand, up off of the ground, and spun, sending her right leg towards Neji's side. He caught her leg with one certain right hand, but he wasn't stationed enough for the power.

'_How could a kunoichi have this much strength,'_ Neji thought through winced eyes as he was pushed rightwards. He buried his right foot in the ground and lifted up Ino's leg, sending it over top of him. He had prepared his chakra in his left hand while doing this, and was almost seen sending it crashing in-between Ino's legs. _'Damn, she plays a good game.'_

He stopped himself once again, and sent a right kick towards Ino's stomach. He hadn't quite shifted his weight yet, though, and his body was falling to the right. Ino's right foot landed and she rolled over it, sending her left arcing through the air. Neji's leg was not met by anything as it passed by Ino's body, and Neji caught himself on his right arm and spun clockwise, sending both of his legs into both of Ino's. She made a squelching sound as her tongue was bitten, startled by the sudden movement and pain of limbs, and she kept on her hands best she could, and ended flat-assed facing away from Neji.

Neji had completed his turn and landed on his right knee, left foot, facing Ino. He put all of his weight over his left leg and pushed, moving the whole two feet to place his chakra-ridden left palm into Ino's back.

Ino arched, blood from her tongue sent in the air as she made a terrible noise, her hands coming together on the ground between her outstretched legs.

Neji's center of gravity was in a place unknown to him, so he couldn't continue his barrage right then. He settled back onto his feet, still crouched, and flung his right leg into Ino's right side. Ino left the ground at this hit, and her body turned, now facing to her previous left. She ducked and rolled upon hitting the ground, and jumped using her left foot planted firmly on the ground, if only for a second. She twisted in the air, and landed facing Neji; really close to Neji. She was still falling backwards, and her drop in a place closer than expected had Neji falling forwards at his attempted stop. They crashed on top of each other, neither one in a position to make a move at all. Neji looked at Ino with non-byakugan eyes, and Ino looked back up with her sapphire ones, and winked.

Neji was quite taken back as he rolled off Ino as fast as he could. Ino's left leg sought him as she rolled slightly herself, but he was too quick and had already gotten on one knee and caught her leg, which was not carrying much power this time. He grabbed her leg and spun, using his body as leverage against hers while rising, and threw the shocked Ino away from him. She landed and skidded across the ground as Neji stood up and composed himself, once again activating his Byakugan_. 'I need to finish this. I'm wasting too much chakra for the next round. It could be against Sasuke, or Hasame,'_ he thought through closed eyes, yet still aware of his surroundings.

Ino picked herself up and looked back at Neji. _'He's meditating or some messed-up Hyuuga shit. Shit. Maybe I should pull out some Yamanaka shit of my own.'_

Ino pulled a kunai from her pouch. She threw it at Neji, who easily deflected it.

"Don't you know by now that that doesn't work?"

"Shut up, and fight me!"

'_I'm so pumped right now! Bring it on, bastard!'_

Neji, as if on cue, ran at Ino, with his right palm getting ready. He reached her with an extended arm, aimed at her left shoulder. Ino ducked slightly, but fully stretched her left leg as to drop her entire left side. She sent her own dominant right back at Neji, hers in a fist and aimed at his crotch. Neji leaned backwards left and used his left hand to deflect her arm to the right, protecting his manhood.

'_He's moving at full speed now, shit!'_

Ino managed to think that before a palm was placed squarely on her right shoulder. She was sent backwards.

Neji pushed with his left foot after her, and sent a right palm towards her kidneys. She sent her left elbow down on his arm, saving herself from utter destruction, though she was still struck. She stumbled in a counterclockwise fashion now and Neji hit her back with another left. Ino fell forwards into a roll, away from her adversary, and finally had the conscious of mind to react. Ino leapt as hard as she could away from Neji. She made her hand signs in the air, preparing.

Neji ran after her, though her speed was hard to match after his stumbling. He saw within her chakra molding.

'_Damn, she'll turn and hit me with something. I need to hit her there.'_ He focused his eyes best he could, for the best accuracy.

Ino spun midair, and landing about a foot from Neji, pushing towards him, she activated her family's bloodline.

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

Ino had her hands in the right form, and was a shoo-in for her technique. Ino smirked seeing where Neji would be forced to hit her.

His palm struck her, inserting his chakra into her own. His right hand hit squarely on her chakra point, not an inch above her left nipple.

Ino's eyes widened in shock, but mainly in pain. She let out a whimper from the force applied to her breast, and the chakra invading her system. Her jutsu had just barely left base, and it was dispelled by the amount of foreign chakra pouring into her chakra system. It wasn't a terribly important point, but it had the habit of dispelling jutsu. Ino fell backwards, clutching herself in pain.

"YOU PUNCHED MY BOOB!"

Neji again winced at the girl, but he couldn't quite move that well.

'_Damn, her jutsu must've partially hit me.'_

Ino struggled to her feet, and pulled a kunai out.

"I'll kill you!" Ino charged head-on, waving her kunai like a madman. Neji moved his right arm in, and knocked the kunai from Ino's hand, but her free left landed a fist on his stomach. Neji coughed, and used his left hand to hit a chakra point on her left shoulder, rendering her arm useless.

'_Shit, what've I done?'_ Ino had a chance to think before the full-functioning Neji hit her in the stomach with a chakra palm, and again right on her collarbone. Ino choked on her blood and fell backwards for the nth time this fight, only to be kicked in the chin before she could hit the ground. Her jaw promptly broke and she was sent flying backwards.

'_Shit, I can't move…'_

Neji jumped up to her, and held his right palm above her, it overflowing with chakra. He brought his hand up, and moved it hard down on Ino, aimed at her heart.

His hand stopped. Shikamaru was sitting up on the balcony, his shadow down on Neji.

"What the hell were you thinking? Damn." Shikamaru was still crouched, squatting above the arena.

"This fight's over; Yamanaka Ino is disqualified. The winner is Hyuuga Neji."

Shikamaru released his hold. Ino twitched a little, trying to move.

"Ugh… Shit, Neji, you shuck sho mush…" Ino managed to squeeze out through a mangled jaw.

Neji looked down at Ino, scowled, and walked away.

'_Damn, I went full-out there at the end. I need to watch myself, I can't keep this going for one more round; I'll be out. I need to pray for at least Naruto. Damn, there's a shortage of inept fighters here.'_

He muttered to himself all the way to the stairs, and then looked back at Ino, still lying on the ground. Neji walked up the stairs, not pausing to look back again. He calmly walked up to Gai, who spared him not a look.

"What?" Neji spat.

The medics came out, once again. "Once, I'd like not to have to come out here and pick up your mess, Hayate."

"Just do your job," Hayate managed to speak through coughs.

The medics picked Ino up on a stretcher, making their way back to the infirmary.

"Oww…" Ino moaned, trying to move a little.

"Don't strain yourself, Blondie." The medics left, once again.

Hayate followed the medics with his eyes, and then traced up to the computer.

**AND** just like that, it's over again. Sad day. Tell me how I did on this chapter, and be sure to check back for the next one! Bye for now!!


	8. Of Foul Mouths and Bugs

**A/N **Hello all! It's been a little bit, hasn't it? Well, here is the new and improved (how can things be new _and_ improved??) chapter of Good Luck out There! I'm really happy due to the Red Wing's recent 4-3 win in game 7, and I'm sorry if I just lost the California section of my readers. I have no one to thank because of reviews, but there is one special person I would like to give a shout out to: _Jade TeaLeaf_ for beta reading this chapter and making it how it is. So read, enjoy, and review this eighth chapter in Good Luck out There!

**OF FOUL MOUTHS AND BUGS**

'Aburame Shino v. Tsuchi Kin'

Hinata looked over at Shino, the respected Aburame walking over to the stairs, hands in pockets and his sunglasses on his face. He passed the Hyuuga, not bothering himself for a glance. She often wondered about him, why he was who he was.

"Feel sorry for that bastard." Kin blurted, already down to field.

"Me too." Shino monotoned, his famous trademark (though known to be dropped).

Shino and Kin now faced each other, squaring in the center of the hall.

"Ready? Begin."

Kin crouched down, her knees jutting forward, though her left was farther out than her right. She reached her left arm around her, reaching into her pack. She felt around, though the cavern was familiar territory. She quickly found what she needed, and was able to hurl the two senbon, each fitted with bells, at Shino; one to his left and the other to his right. Shino watched cautiously, seeing how both were sent wide of him.

"And that was for…" Shino mockingly stated, moving his right arm from his side. His eyes quickly narrowed, though unseen behind his glasses, as he felt his arm brush something. He nabbed a kunai with his left arm and as quickly as he could he sliced the strings trailing the bells to Kin, stumbling left. She smirked.

"Tsuchi Kin, 14. She's one from Otogakure, and appears to be very tactical."

The taught string snapped easily, and the erect bells slouched to the ground, the sound resonating throughout. Shino's ears perked and he spun on his left heel to see the bells stuck in the wall. He bent his knees and looked back at Kin, in time to jump high in the air to avoid a silent senbon. 'Damn, that was close.' Shino kept his eyes on the kunoichi, but was forced to move his gaze when he once again heard the bells. 'What?!'

The silent senbon had connected with the bell, once more singing its chant. Shino landed on his right foot first, facing the bells, narrowing his vision on them. He felt a pierce in his flesh, two stinging sensations plaguing his back. He stumbled forward, but was ultimately unable to move. The bell tolled again.

"What's the matter, you flit?"

"I'll need to work on that mouth of hers…" mumbled Dosu.

'I…can't move…' Shino struggled against the binding sound. It filled his body to the point of overflowing; stuffing his limbs with a pulsing sound that prevented his nerves from having their way. Shino concentrated, and his chakra was still working. 'I just need to send them out; they know what to do…' He gave one last effort before he felt a senbon strike the back of his right upper-arm. The sound pulsed one more. He could see the sound waves. They were now filling not only his body, but his vision. He grabbed his head, closed his eyes and shook. 'Wait, I can move!' Shino snapped his eyes open to see a purple wasteland in front of him, and he heard the demented cackling of Kin from elsewhere, from everywhere. He turned and saw nothing, but he felt pain. It was crushing in from everywhere, burning and slicing his appendages. He looked down at his left hand only to see it melt into blood before him. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, the pain was so much.

"Aburame Shino, the last of Yuuhi Kurenai's. He's 12, and skilled in the use of bugs, just as the others of his clan are. He's skilled in ninjutsu, and he's smart. I'm wondering myself if he can get out of this, though." The Sandaime Hokage leaned forward to watch.

Kin laughed gigglingly to herself, watching Shino on his knees screaming.

"Shino! Shino!" Hinata pleaded from the balcony, not able to bear the sight of her teammate being tortured before her.

"Hey man! Get up! Get up!" Kiba, too, tried to awaken Shino.

"Is the match over?" Hayate asked Kin, who was enjoying herself. There were now several belled senbon sticking out of the ground near Shino, and even Shino himself.

"I'm not done yet, so no."

Shino continued to scream.

"Fine, I guess. Just hold on fo—" Kin stopped mid sentence, her eyes widening. She dropped to her knees, clutching her stomach. She lowered her head, recoiling in, before she let out a deafening roar. Shino's scream stopped almost simultaneously as he was awaken from his genjutsu. He lay panting on all fours, looking at the ground.

"What the hell is happening to her?" Dosu wondered out loud.

"God! Holy shit, make it stop!" Kin screamed and screamed, and Shino stood up. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and held out his arms.

"Come on back," he squeezed out, for he was still in pain from the senbon sticking out of him.

Kin's scream got louder as her stomach was being pulled towards Shino, her back now arched. Small spots of blood showed up on the front of her shirt, but the quickly grew larger. Bugs started to burrow out through her shirt and come out through any of its orifices as Kin continued to scream. The bugs were now fully out of her, the last one returning to Shino's aid. Her blouse was still getting bloodier and bloodier, the wounds not closing. The insects had had quite a feast on her chakra. "For the love of God, make it stop!" She fell forward onto the ground. "Call the fucking match!" Kin didn't cease to bellow forth her cry.

"This match is over, Aburame Shino is the winner. Medics! Get out here!"

The medics rushed forward. "Holy crap Hayate, why didn't you call us sooner?" the medics questioned upon seeing the limp, screaming girl lying in a puddle of blood.

"Just get her out of here."

Shino had ignored the cries of the medics and was now halfway up the balcony. He made it to the top and was instantly greeted by his worried comrades Hinata and Kiba.

"Are y-you ok?" Hinata blurted, wrapping her arms around him.

"I'm fine. Please, let me."

"Are you sure?" Kiba asked, a worried look plaguing his face as well.

"Yes. Now let."

Hinata released her grip on the ninja. She watched him to his retreat, and then turned her eyes to the floor, which was now void of any writhing soul.

'_Hopefully we don't have to go through that again,'_ Hayate thought to himself, as he was looking up at the computer figure out the next pair.

**SALUT** to all who have just finished this chapter! If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, don't be shy to leave a review! Until next time!

↓ HIT THIS BUTTON, HERE ↓


	9. Sabaku no Gaara

**A/N** Here is the (probably not) long-awaited new chapter of Good Luck out There! I hope to keep this fanfic going strong, but I can't do so without the help of all of you, letting me know how I'm doing! Read and Review this fan fiction, as your input is greatly appreciated! I have one very special person to thank for this chapter, and that is the one-and-only Jade TeaLeaf! My beta reader has not given up all hope on this piece just yet, so, Jade TeaLeaf, I commend your service. I sincerely wish I could thank someone else by name, but no one has reviewed it in recent memory! But, I do wish to thank everyone who continues to read this. So, without further ado, please enjoy this next appendage of Good Luck out There!

**SABAKU NO GAARA**

"So there's just that weird guy over there left from Konoha," Naruto pointed out, very bluntly.

"Way to go, Naruto." Hasame stared blankly at the wall.

'Sabaku no Gaara v. Tsurugu Misumi'

Gaara looked up from the floor. He had blanked, every passing second leaving Gaara with one more second of bloodlust, every beating of his heart pounding against his temples. He was awakened from his trance by his sister:

"Hey, you're up."

"This didn't come nearly soon enough."

Gaara swept himself up in his sand and reappeared down on the floor.

"Sabaku no Gaara…not much of a talker, eh? Not that you would be able to after fighting me." Misumi accented his claim by the clenching of a slightly-raised right fist. Gaara continued to say nothing, arms folded across his chest.

Misumi chuckled. "Allow me to fix that attitude of yours."

"Now, both of you are ready? Good. Now, begin."

Gaara stood still, staring down his opponent.

Misumi himself stood still. "Get ready." He crouched down, and then ran full at Gaara. Misumi bent his left knee, partially squatting down when he reached the Sand Ninja, and his right leg swung in an arch that connected with Gaara's side. Sand rose up and caught his leg, and Misumi's eyes widened in shock before it narrowed in concentration. His leg stretched out, sweeping behind the Gaara. Sand continued to block any of Misumi's attempts to get in for a blow, and Misumi could now see his foot peaking around the pillar of sand Gaara was becoming. He kicked backwards, sending his right leg up high as he did to free himself. Misumi landed a good number of feet back, and drew his leg in full.

"Tsurugu Misumi, 23. He's one of our Leaf ninjas, and appears to be incredibly strong."

_'That sand is a bit of a menace. I'll need to sneak my way through it.'_

Misumi stood tall, and pulled a kunai with his left hand. He looked Gaara in the eye, noticing that he had not yet moved.

_'Here we go…'_ He strangled the hilt of his weapon and then dodged left and cannoned at his opponent, who had finally removed his left arm from its holster. The sand that cocooned him seemed alive, and sped at Misumi, who threw his right arm in a curve, arching far out in front of him, catching the sand, and forcing him just barely to the right to avoid it. Misumi caught the ground with his right heel, and spun counterclockwise to get a left heel in hard on Gaara. The shot was blocked, and Misumi threw the kunai, his left leg still buried, pushing through the sand. A relatively small amount of the dirt rose up and caught the kunai, dropping it harmlessly to the ground. _'He's distracted, here, now!' _Misumi jumped at the chance, by bending over his contorted left to send a right fist into the shield of sand at the same time his kunai did.

The raging river of sand that had cut its way past Misumi's left had completed its cycle, and started to curve in from the right. Misumi saw this and went to jump away, but something jerked him back.

"Sabaku no Gaara, 12. Shukaku Jinchuuriki, but I guess I don't need to tell you about him, Kazekage," Sarutobi blunted.

_'Dammit! He has my foot and hand caught in his sand!'_

The sand collided with the barrier Misumi's right hand was caught in, and swirled around him, closing in to a tight pack.

Gaara took a step back as Hayate took a step in. He made a slow hand sign and held out his right hand, keeping his calm among the muffled yells.

"Sand Burial."

The screaming stopped almost instantly, and Gaara lowered his hand, which released the ball of sand. The sand was stained a very disturbing red as it hit the ground, and Misumi lay, very crushed. His limp body was silent, as was everyone else in the hall. Gaara turned and walked to the stairs.

Hayate had run to what used to be called a body, and felt for a pulse to no avail. "Fuck."

The medics ran out with a stretcher, but slowed upon seeing Hayate's face.

"He's dead?"

"You can still take him out of here."

"Shit, Hayate. This isn't what I signed up for."

"Then what is?" Hayate screamed at him. "We all signed up for this when we joined the academy. Shit, the winner's Gaara."

Gaara was already on the balcony, looking down at the body that was being lumped onto the stretcher, and carried out.

The stubborn cruor was scrubbed furiously and was removed as much as possible.

'Shit. I should've stopped the fight.' Hayate silently chastised himself, waiting for the computer to reveal what everyone already knew.

'Kinuta Dosu v. Temari'

**HOW **was that, fanfictionites? If you have any questions or comments, let me know! Please review to tell me what to do better, so I can continue to crank out quality chapters of my brainchild. I look forward to having you all read this next time!


	10. Final Showdown: Sound v Sand

**A/N** Here it is, the last chapter of the preliminary fights! I have to thank every single one of my readers for continuing to check in and read my story, it has meant so much to me! I wish I could thank people by name, but no one has reviewed since the first chapter. So read and review!

**FINAL SHOWDOWN: SOUND V. SAND**

"They had to wait until the last fight to get me in, huh?"

"Just get through."

"Who do you think I am?" Temari warningly posed at Gaara.

Gaara returned with a stare. As strong as his kunoichi was, it was impossible for her not to feel the slightest bit of fear.

"Ah, I see. Well, best be off." Temari pushed off the balcony and walked over to the stairs. Dosu did the same. They walked down very coordinated, and reached the hall's center very punctually.

Hayate approached the two.

"Make sure you think about what you're doing before you do it."

"Oh, so he gives them advice." Naruto stated in a very whiny fashion.

"That's not what it was, Naruto."

"If that's in check, then begin."

Dosu and Temari stared at each other. Neither one wanted to move. Temari finally broke the calm with a smirk.

"I guess I'll go, then." She removed her fan from her back and opened it up widely, all the while looking at the sound ninja. "How's this? Wind Scythe Jutsu!"

"Temari, 15. You know all about her tactical style, don't you Kazekage?" Sarutobi Hiruzen laughed.

She waved her fan in a big, arching sweep, disturbing the air in front of her. Dosu backed his stance with his left leg, and held up his right arm. Temari's wind ripped through the area, cutting Dosu while simultaneously charming the hideous device attached to his right arm, sounding a piercing resonance that penetrated the hall.

Temari's slicing wind ceased at once, and she grabbed her head.

"God, I hate you Sound bastards," Temari said through clenched teeth, still holding her head with her right hand and her fan with the other. She reluctantly moved her right arm down to grab the fan.

"Why is it that you Leaf Ninjas can't just listen to the sound of my melody? It's quite beautiful."

With one great effort, she swung the fan back the other way.

"Cyclone Scythe!" Temari bellowed forth, sending wind and sound back at her adversary.

'_Not good...'_ Dosu thought, throwing up his arms, but still trapped. He was lifted off his feet, sent hurtling backwards. His body was a victim as it was sliced open at several occasions. He hit the wall hard, staining it with blood.

"And I'm from Sunagakure."Temari stood tall. _'There. Is that it?'_ She slightly smiled. "Hey, you in there?"

Hayate looked at the clearing dust with great interest.

"Well, at least nothing was expected of you." Temari closed her fan and placed an end on the ground, leaning on it.

"Yes. That way I'll just look better."

Temari had a very surprised look on her face when she heard Dosu's voice making its way through the obstruction.

"Well, you're not a quitter, I'll give you that." Temari casually lifted her fan and slightly opened it, holding it out to her right. Her eyes widened upon seeing several kunai fly out through the debris, and she very easily deflected them away. "Is that all you've got?"

Dosu walked out to the clear – "Not even half of it." He pulled his metal arm out of his sleeve and tapped it with the flick of a finger. A falsetto tone took hold of the hall. Temari recoiled, once again grabbing her head. She was able to keep an eye open despite the crippling noise, and blocked an arching left fist with her fan, then a subsequent right with her arm.

The Melody Arm struck Temari's regular arm with great force, and Temari let out a yell. Her right leg crippled, and she pushed backwards with her left leg, all the while holding her fan. She buried it into the ground to stop her motion, and brought it up and opened it wide.

"CYCLONE SCYTHE JUTSU!" Temari screamed, and swung her fan in front of her with great force. The sound was no longer an issue to her, and she tried to stand up straight again, but her inner ear was still making her dizzy. _'This is embarrassing, I need to finish this.'_

Dosu leapt backwards, and kept his ears open. He stayed on his toes and glanced around. _'Here…'_ He jumped backwards. _'There…_' He dodged right. "Your wind is fast," he said, all the while dodging the slicing wind, "but it's noisy, too."

"Here we have Kinuta Dosu, 14. He's a Sound shinobi, and his strong points are his ninjutsu and speed."

'_No way, he's dodging it?'_ Temari readied her fan again. "Try this!" She swung her fan every which way, controlling her wind.

"Ah, now I can have fun." The Sound Ninja spun on his heel and fell backwards, catching himself and sending himself upwards. "Oh, that's new." He spun himself in mid-air and slammed his contraption into a sharp swipe of wind. A wretched sound took over the arena, and Dosu's arm was sliced through.

"Shit!" he hissed, now unable to fend for himself while hanging in midair. He heard a sharp sound behind him and spun, though unable to protect himself. He held up his arms and took the chop straight-on, cutting him. He was then lifted up again, and thrown at the ground. Dosu contorted, and landed square on his feet. Temari had ceased her barrage of wind.

"I hate you," he managed weakly, hanging his ripped arms in front of him. The arm landed on the ground next to him with a loud clank.

"Let me finish this quickly for you."

Dosu crouched down, ready to move.

"Here's one more! Wind Scythe!" Temari's fan was opened slightly, and she swung it this way and that. Dosu was once again trapped, but not for lack of try. He was caught in an alley of calm surrounded by buildings of thrashing wind, with a wall behind him and a kunoichi to his front.

"Now, it's over." Temari jammed the slightly-opened part of her fan in the ground. She ripped her fan upwards, severely damaging the ground in a straight path to Dosu, and sent a torrent of wind forward at dashing speed.

A loud crash was accompanied by flying rocks. Temari smirked. "That should just about do it, proctor." Temari was bent over her fan, weak from chakra exhaustion.

"Yes, call it!"

Temari let out a very audible gasp as she spun around her fan to see the heavily-bleeding Dosu coming at her fast with a kunai in each hand. She had a strong grip on her fan, and as a reaction she picked it up and swung it as hard as she could, not opened, at the Sound ninja. The fan collided beautifully and with a crack with Dosu's head, and he was sent off to his left, landing and skidding across the floor. He lay motionless and Hayate ran over, checking his pulse.

"He's still alive. The winner of this last match is Temari, and I hereby declare the preliminaries of the 3rd round of these Chuunin exams to be over."

The medics came out, and carried the body of Dosu out of the arena.

"Now," Hayate announced, "will the winners of their respective matches please approach, and make a line in front of me."

Hasame, Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Neji, Shino, Gaara, and Temari did as they were told and lined up in front of Hayate.

"Now, we have 2 champions missing: Sasuke and Lee. I will draw for Sasuke, and Lee will take the remaining number. Each of you will also take one, and it will show you whom you will fight in the 3rd round, a series of rapid-fire elimination fights; they will take place a month from now. 10 will fight 1, 9 will fight 2, and so on. The Ninja who displays the best performance shall receive a bye for the next round. You will be reseeded after a round, top playing bottom."

'_A month… Damn, I could've finished off Yamanaka sooner than I did.'_ Neji's eyes narrowed.

"Now, please draw a number."

Hayate drew for Sasuke, and pulled 2.

Hasame drew next, and she received 6. _'Feel sorry for whoever draws 5.'_

Naruto drew next, in lieu of Lee, and pulled 10. _'Bring it on, 1.'_ He smirked.

Kiba then pulled 9. _'Damn! I have Sasuke in the first round, the Pride of the Uchiha.'_

Shikamaru was next, and got 4. He looked around, wondering who was going to pull 7.

Shino then reached, and was blessed with the number 3. _'I'm looking out for 8, now.'_

As if by cue, Neji drew 8. The two looked at each other.

Gaara's turn was next. _'Please, oh please draw 7 or 1…' _Hasame pleaded. Gaara pulled 7. Shikamaru exhaled his held breath.

Temari was last to go, fishing for a 1 or a 5. Hasame looked on with great interest when Temari drew the 5.

"And that leaves 1 for Rock Lee. Thank you all for coming, and I wish you luck in your training."

"Great, I get to go against Bushy Brows!" Naruto said, clenching his fist.

"Don't get too cocky, Naruto."

"You're just saying that because you have to go against me," Temari said, looking Hasame up and down. "Good luck out there," she chuckled dryly.

"Temari, we're leaving," Gaara said, walking out of the door.

"Well, best be off."

**I **hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know how it was! Any questions or comments, just review it and let me know! In the words of Stephen King, "the editor is always right."


	11. Formation: InoHinaCho!

**A/N** It certainly has been a while, hasn't it? School got off to a busy start, and I regret it to say that a beloved member of the two-member family of Good Luck out There is no longer with us - Jade TeaLeaf has gone off to college, and will not be able to Beta Read this story anymore; this is the last chapter beta read by Jade TeaLeaf. If you want to be a replacement of this guiding hand send me a PM. Now, here is the 11th installment in my Naruto Fanfiction Good Luck out There!

**FORMATION: INO-HINA-CHO!**

"Y-you wanted t-to s-see me?" Hinata nervously entered the Hokage's office.

"Yes. Please enter, Hinata." Hinata made her way in, now standing between Ino and Chouji. Asuma stood beside them. Hinata twirled her thumbs around, trying to stand with proper posture in the presence of her superior.

"Now, I've called you all here because you are not participating in the next round of the Chuunin Exams, and therefore not training. So, without a chance of hindering your odds, I have a mission for you three," Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Sandaime Hokage, said.

"B-but, sorry t-to interrupt, I'm helping K-Kiba and Shino t-train," she timidly pouted.

"_We_ were helping Shika train," Ino started.

"But Tenten's still _relax_-(ahem) recovering, so we're the only ones," Chouji then stated. Asuma chuckled.

"Not only that, but we need our Chuunin and Jounin here to protect the village. During this exam, we are completely open to an attack, from either our visitors or an outside force. Now that we have sorted that, let me explain the details. This mission I have for the three of you is to bring these papers to Iwagakure, have them signed by the Tsuchikage, and safely delivered back to me."

"How could you give us a simple mission like this one?" Ino was highly offended.

Sandaime sat back into his chair a little bit. "It's not all that easy of an assignment."

"Wait, what do you mean by that?" The Third had gained Chouji's curiosity. Hinata seemed very curious, as well.

"These papers are classified. I even forbid you from seeing them." Here he held up a manila envelope. "There are some who do not wish these to reach the hands of the Tsuchikage."

"What are they?" Ino posed.

"To be honest, they're mainly a formality, but that still means that until these papers get ratified, nothing goes into effect. That's all I can tell you." Sarutobi gave Asuma the envelope, and sent them off on their way.

"So, Hinata," Ino said very innocently as they walked down the streets of Konohagakure, "what do the documents say?" She walked a little closer to the other kunoichi, as if to try to mollify her. Asuma walked a few feet in front of the trio, casually holding the sealed envelope in his left hand, and smoking with his right. He blew the smoke out up into the air, to avoid irritating their eyes.

"I c-can't look at them…" Hinata said, scooting away from Ino, and as a result bumping into Chouji. He was not paying attention.

"Whoa, watch were you're stepping, there, Hinata."

"S-sorry!" She squeaked.

"C'mon, Hina," Ino said, throwing an arm around her shoulders, "what's a few Byakugans among friends?"

"Ino, I really c-can't!"

"You really are no fun, you know that, Hyuuga?" Ino released her hold on the violet-haired girl.

"I'm s-sorry, but th-the Hokage's orders…"

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, we're gonna say bye to Shika, how about you go and bid farewell to your comrades?" Ino ended up finishing her sentence sarcastically, as she tended to do when she forgot what she was trying to say mid-sentence. The four then broke off, Chouji, Ino, and Asuma going their way, and Hinata making hers.

***

"There you three are. So what are we doing today?" Shikamaru asked, currently lying on his back, looking at the sky. He was resting his hands behind his head, as a pillow.

"_We're_ going on a mission with Hinata. _You_ have to train by yourself." Shikamaru turned his head to look at Ino, who was speaking.

"Actually, it wouldn't be a bad idea to train with Shino and Kiba; they're out a kunoichi."

Shikamaru smiled at his sensei's joke. "Maybe I _could_ train with Kiba and Shino. I'm not fighting them in the first round."

"That's the spirit. Now get up, your ass has to be huge from layin' on it all the time." Asuma held out a hand, helping Shikamaru to his feet. He looked behind him as he brushed off his pants.

"It's not any bigger than usual." Shikamaru smiled. "So what's going on with this mission?"

***

Hinata walked slowly up to the training area that Kiba, Shino, and Kurenai populated.

"Hey!" Kiba said, while dodging a kunai. He returned one quickly. "You're just in time to help us take down Kurenai-Sensei."

"Actually, I'm going on a mission with Ino, Chouji, and Asuma." Kurenai's ears perked at the sound of his name.

"That's rather unfortunate," Shino said, while amassing his insects.

"So, I just came to say goodbye." Hinata had dropped her stammer in the presence of her comrades.

"See ya later! Good luck and… all!" Kiba had jumped from his tree and landed, throwing several kunai.

"What is the mission, Hinata?" Kurenai asked.

"Oh! I'm delivering some papers to the Tsuchikage."

"Well, be careful," warned Kiba. Akamaru barked, as if to reinforce the statement.

"Thank you! Good luck in the finals."

Hinata then ran off, seeking out her team. They were not at the front gate, though, and she patiently waited.

"Hey, there you are, Hinata. We were looking for you."

Hinata jumped in her clothes, and turned around to find Asuma, Chouji, and Ino. "I'm here," Hinata nervously spoke.

"Yeah, we got that after talking to Kurenai-sensei," Chouji said.

"Asuma had to _say goodbye_." Ino mocked. Asuma took another drag, closing his eyes.

"Shikamaru is training with Shino and Kiba, and we were dropping him off." He moved out from his assembled team, and turned to address them. "Are we all ready to head out, then?"

"I am." Hinata reassured, followed by a similar action by Chouji. Ino shrugged a yes.

"All right, let's head off, then! The vast north awaits!"

The four stood gloriously just outside the gate of Konohagakure, standing tall.

"So, um, anyone actually know the way to Iwagakure, let alone the Land of Earth?" Chouji asked, very confused.

Asuma was about to speak, but he was beat out by Hinata. "W-well, it would b-be better to g-go up north through the Land of the Waterfall rather th-than the Land of Grass, b-because of the g-geography."

"Wow, Hinata, who knew you were so smart?" Ino inquired. "You're always so quiet and stuff."

"Good idea," Asuma smirked. "Now, come on, you want to be back to see the finals, don't you?" He stomped out his cigarette and led his team away from Konohagakure into the wild forest.

The four ninja jumped from tree to tree, making their way out of the Land of Fire.

"It'll take about a day to reach the border, so we'll set up camp just outside the Land of the Waterfall. Best to enter the country in the broad daylight; they're a little on edge of intruders," Asuma told his three Genin, leaping through the forest. "Keep your eyes open, too. You heard Hiru- Sandaime; this may not be smooth sailing."

After another stretch of forest, Ino piped up. "So, Hinata," Ino asked, always the one to strike conversation, "how does your team keep busy on the road?"

"W-well, Kiba and K-Kurenai-Sensei talk, but Shino and I j-just keep ourselves entert-tained." Hinata was still choking on her words.

An awkward pause, an air of silence wiped over the four ninjas throwing themselves amongst the trees.

"Ah."

***

"Why the hell am _I_ doing this?"

"Just do your job."

"Bitch…"

Ketsu mumbled this last part to himself.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, Ya-" – Ketsu caught himself, here – "Mizukage-san."

"That's what it thought you said."

Ketsu stood up from his knee, pushing himself up with his clenched right fist. He made another small bow, a formality in Kirigakure, and left the room with averted eyes.

Ketsu walked up to his team of two Chuunin, him the genjutsu Special Jounin. "He's not budging. Best get it done now the Mizukage can pay us sooner. Go find some jobs to mess up."

Jin and Shuon nodded dutifully and walked out of the hall.

The high sun shone down upon the splendors of Kirigakure, the fresh dew from a morning misting glistened brightly. A wet torrent the night before had left the barren municipality teeming with vitality; the vivid colors had their moment of glory as the fog had wafted away. Jin drew a deep breath of stale, pure, frigid air through his nose, and slowly exhaled it through his glistening pink lips. A bird cooed to another in the distance, and a light wind blew a rustle of leaves to a slouched-over figure, dragging off the long, slender cigarette he held in his fingers. He was sporting rough-looking clothes, and had several scratches. He blew his smoke into the air as he looked up to the sky. The smoke dissipated before his eyes, but the lingering white fluff of clouds filled its presence. He brushed his hand through his long white hair and coughed slightly into his shoulder. The man lowered his head, realizing that the mist was making an entrance back into their village. Jin crouched down, ready to make his advance at the man.

"I call the bastard," Shuon stated bluntly, looking over at the same man standing in the grass.

**Here **is the end of the first chapter of this new arc! It came so soon. Now, I need a beta reader to continue this fanfic! If you're interested, PM me! Goodbye for now, faithful reader.


	12. Vicarious Pleasures

**A/N** Good day. Night. Thing. Whatever. I haven't updated in _quite_ a while, and this is because I am lacking a beta reader! I have a bunch of chapters written and I was waiting to publish them until I got one to really help with the story, but I realized that this chapter is pretty good! Please read and review this chapter to help out with the quality, and if you would like to join my team, send me a PM to see about being a beta reader! Anyone can help; I just need someone to doublecheck for grammar slips, spelling slips, continuity, and syntax confusion. It sounds daunting, but can be really fun! So, read on and enjoy, people!

**VICARIOUS PLEASURES**

"I call the bastard," Shuon stated bluntly, looking over at the same man standing in the grass.

"That's all right, I don't need him anyway. I could probably do this mission myself, actually, but I just don't feel like it." Jin took a long breath in to accompany his confidence, fancying himself taller than the world.

"You're lucky you're not as quixotic as you fancy; you'd be long dead."

"You watch−I will do this mission. You don't know what I'm capable of, Shuon." A laugh upset Jin, and he glared at the source.

Shuon then jumped down off the hill and walked up to the man in the field.

The bystander looked down to Shuon and was instantly concerned; dropping his cigarette, he quickly rubbed it into the ground.

"Good day, sir."

"Why yes, it is." Shuon threw out his arm, and wrapped the man in a thin, invisible thread. The man gasped out an obscenity before he was drawn in close, and even before a jagged, crystalline object was driven into his stomach. His chakra started to pour out, and filled the article with a glowing energy. He was choking out, and soon became quite feeble, his strength drawing itself out through the orifice. He was struggling against the wire, but his arms were quickly found to be useless. The man slumped to the ground upon removal of the device, very pale in his complexion, and bloodstained in his stomach. "What is your name, son?" Shuon demanded.

The man coughed.

"I'm sorry, I seem to have not caught that… do you desire to be in clover?" He shook the chakra tauntingly.

"Gen…"

"Gen, eh? That sounds good to me." Shuon then jabbed the apparatus into his own stomach and kneeled down, placing his outfaced palm against Gen's wound, and forced his own chakra into Gen's starving chakra canals. Instantly, Gen's chakra gushed into Shuon, filling him up. Once the crystal was empty, Shuon removed his hand from Gen's abdomen. He held his hands up to his face subsequent to liberating the crystal, and made several hand signs in a very short amount of time. "Body-Control Chakra-Suppression Jutsu!"

The already near-death Gen jerked around a bit; Shuon's chakra invaded his system and began to neutralize every bit of Gen left. Shuon himself subdued a scream, as he was used to the pain of a temporary body switch, and felt himself getting weaker. He started to fade in and out, as Gen kicked harder and screamed louder, finally blacking out entirely.

"You took a big risk doing that in broad daylight." Gen looked up at the woman talking. She had long, flowing black hair to go with her raven-liken eyes. She was neither short nor tall, and looked at Gen with familiar eyes.

"Ketsu?" Gen asked, studying the look in her jewels.

"No, it's Year now. And you might be…"

"Gen." He said this matter-of-factly as he stuck out a stiff right leg.

"Ah. Any idea where Jin is?"

"He said he'd be completing this undertaking as himself, not a proxy."

"Good lord." Year looked down at the ground and exhaled a long sigh. "Well, ditch your body, and then we'll meet up at the front."

Gen did as instructed, and continued to carry his unconscious body to his house. He opened the door, and laid himself down on the bed. "Rest here bravely now. I'll return before you slip into that forgiving sleep."

Gen met up with Year at the main entrance to Kirigakure, and Jin soon met up with them. "Ketsu? Shuon?"

"Yeah." Year said, looking at a familiar face. "Just know that I, in no way, condone what you are doing here." She pierced his soul with a glare.

"Let's just do this mission so we can get back and get paid." Jin said as he turned his shoulder to her.

Year scowled.

***

The four Leaf ninja leaped through the trees, making serious progress in their journey to Iwagakure. Asuma took a deep breath in through his nose, exhaling loudly before he spoke.

"Ah. Smell that insecurity? We're getting close."

His nins were silent.

"Well, I seem to have forgotten that Shikamaru is not present in this convoy… _note to self – Shikamaru is not present in this convoy._" He smuggled the last part of the sentence into his collar.

No reaction.

Asuma sighed.

Ino had a play in her head – one that consisted of Sasuke that, well, we won't go into the details.

Chouji had his mind filled with the passing everything:

'_Another squirrel, that's twelve…_

'_These leaves seem slightly more yellow than back there…_

'_I wonder what time it is… I haven't eaten since we left…_

'_Asuma is mumbling to himself, maybe he's a spy and that's not the real Asuma…'_

Hinata's mind was blank. She felt it not necessary to preoccupy herself with silly fancies of her own design, which had no relevance to the world itself…except Naruto. She liked to think about Naruto when she wasn't thinking about nothing. She forgot that she did, sometimes, though.

Asuma then held a hand out, halting his ninjas. "All right, we're close enough now. This clearing" – Asuma motioned with his hand to a clearing in front of them – "should suit a camp wonderfully. I figure Chouji and me in one tent and you two" – here he signaled Hinata and Ino – "in a tent of your own. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

"Y-yes, thank you."

"I saw fifteen squirrels."

"At least you were being attentive. All right then, we'll spend the night here."

Asuma and Ino set up the tents after the four ninjas staked out the best grass, while Chouji gathered wood for fire and Hinata searched for food using her bloodline. She found some very healthy berries, flavorful leaves, and some nice seasoning bark to go with the rabbit she caught. Chouji found nice dry brushwood to encourage the fire that would be raging on the moister, green sticks he found. The two returned at nearly the same time to find the tents up perfectly, complete with blankets set up inside of them. A stew was set up with water from a nearby river, and they steeped Hinata's gatherings.

"It's good Hinata, thank you," Asuma said, while they were eating her stew.

"Well, it's something," Ino said, not in a particularly good mood upon her recovery to reality about Sasuke. Hinata held her head lowered, staring blankly at the ground while eating her stew. She paid no heed to the comments and instead thought of her team, and how she missed them. Team 10 certainly was different, and she wasn't used to the attitudes of the ninjas.

"Hinata? You ok?"

She slowly looked up at Chouji, and wondered what exactly he had said. As a frog snags a fly, she comprehended her now-teammate, and she shook her head out of her daze. "Oh! Yes, s-sorry."

Chouji gave her a reassuring smile.

Dinner was finished, the sun was set, and the ninjas were getting ready to set down to bed. Asuma walked around their camp, and placed tags around the area. "These," he explained to his genin, set to following him, "are chakra sensing. If someone breaks the barrier, a smoke bomb in the middle will go off along with a very loud noise. The smoke provides us with cover, so grab your ninja tools and get out quickly, staying on guard." He had finished and was now in the clearing. "We'll meet up later. Everyone got it?"

Affirmative answers from the three allowed a retreat to the tents, the boys in theirs, and the girls in the other.

"What do you suppose they talk about?" Chouji asked Asuma.

"Who knows and who cares." Asuma lay back on the ground and covered himself up to sleep.

Chouji gazed off, fantasizing in his head.

"Keep it up, Ero-Sennin," Asuma chortled.

"…you really have no desire to go with Sasuke?" Ino was dumbfounded.

"No, I don't."

"Wow. I mean, not at all?"

"No, Ino. I'm g-going to sleep, now, th-though."

"Fine. Have fun _not_ dreaming about Sasuke." Ino sounded rather hurt, or maybe ready to console the Hyuuga. She turned away and fell asleep rather quickly.

Three Leaf shinobi slept soundly under the moon. Hinata was having a hard time sleeping, thinking about back home. That and the sporadic giggles next to her and an occasional garbled _'Sasuke…'_

***

Year, Gen, and Jin had made it to land after island hopping off the atoll the Land of Water was located on, and swiftly made their way through the plains and maze of villages.

"Great, we're inside the Land of Fire now," said Year, who had noticed familiar landscapes. "We're still in the remote southeast, though, and we're far off our target. The papers are traveling with a couple of genin and one jounin, though, according to intelligence reports. Let's make it a little further in before setting camp."

Jin and Gen both nodded, showing their understanding.

"It appears one past the break of morning, now. I believe we're in a right amount." Gen was the expert on these matters in the group.

"You talk so stupid," Year said, looking at him. "I don't know how I've survived three months with you."

Gen dropped a heavy look onto her as a noise came from Jin's direction:

"Sounds ok to me; I need sleep." Jin yawned, tilting his head back to the sky have a short-lived staring contest with the near-full moon.

"Fine, just don't be lazy in the morning." Year shot him a look.

The three Mist ninja settled down, and found their own comfortable nooks to sleep in, now buried in the very southeast corner of the Land of Fire, as their targets slept far to the north.

**This **is the end of this chapter, and I hope you liked it. If you want to help me get chapters out faster, PM me about being a beta reader! In addition to that, please review this to make upcoming chapters BETTER! Better is always better. So, goodbye for now!


	13. Takigakure

**A/N** Hello! You'll never guess what today, the 31st of March is! Today, March 31 2010 is Good Luck out There's first birthday! And, in the course of this upcoming year, I plan to release more than 12 chapters; if, on March 31 2011 I only have 25 chapters published, please send me an angry PM! Today also marks the first chapter beta read by _grapefruit pirate_, the new member of the team! Hopefully _grapefruit pirate _will be with us for more than ten chapters, the record for this fic. So, enough ado about that, here is Good Luck out There's first birthday chapter!

**TAKIGAKURE**

"Rise and shine!"

"One more minute…" Ino lazily rolled over.

"Come on," Asuma pleaded, "even Chouji's up!"

"Yeah, well I actually had a hard fight three days ago…"

Asuma felt inclined to make a reply, yet the words escaped him.

"I'm all achy." Ino rolled over with a pout.

"So," Asuma found his words, "You're glad you just barely lost, instead of completely lost. Hinata and Chouji are both out training. Hinata's actually pretty good. But since you just sorta lost, you have the right to veg out. Makes perfect sense to me."

Ino scoffed at her sensei's remark, but found it hard toform a retort. She angrily rose and walked out into the chilled air, and, through squinted eyes, was able barely to make out her breath. She sharply inhaled through her nose in protest, causing her to cough. Ino could see her coughs just fine. "It's a bit nippy out," Asuma said to no one in particular, fastening up their items.

"I figured as much," Ino coldly stated, rubbing her nose. She shook her blonde hair this way and that, combing out the knots in her long mane. "I'm going to go wash. Keep Chouji away from the river."

Chouji and Hinata returned from their sparring, both looking thoroughly exhausted.

"She sees everything! I think she might have won if she didn't go against Shikamaru."

Hinata blushed a little, obviously flattered by Chouji's observation.

"Speaking of which, stay away from the river, Ino's bathing."

"I see…" Chouji said, looking off in the general direction of where he though the river might be.

"Chouji!" Hinata peeped, blushing for him.

"Hehe, I was only joking, Hinata." He held his right hand up to the back of his head, and conspicuously nonchalantly scratched the back of his head.

Asuma shook his head.

***

Hinata soon joined Ino at the river and took to washing her clothes.

"Your brother's a bastard."

Hinata looked up from her chores, very surprised at the bluntness of this statement. Ino was washing her hair, and not even looking at Hinata.

"H-he's my cousin…"

"Oh. He was trying to kill me at the end of our fight. You saw it." Ino shot an accusatory glare at the Hyuuga girl, as if she had already denied it. Hinata broke into a cold sweat with the piercing eyes penetrating her brain.

"H-hey… aren't y-you c-cold?" Hinata was speaking in reference to the weather, which now threatened to rain.

"Don't bother to change the subject. I can tell you're nervous." Ino then furiously shook her head, airing out her tresses, and set to combing them out.

"H-he's just up-set ab-bout life, in g-general," Hinata mumbled morosely, as she clearly did not wish to discuss the subject.

Ino elevated a thin eyebrow, and then ascended from the cold creek. She quickly dried, and subsequently donned her clothing.

"It's a rather cold out here," Ino stated, while tying up her hair.

"Y-yes, rather cold."

Ino passed a second glance at the pale girl and continued on her way to the camp, all the while combing her hair.

Hinata took note of the other girl's leaving and began slowly to take off her own clothes. She dipped into the frigid water, coming up to her waist, and started to scrub her arms with her hands.

"…proper bath…soap…" Hinata muttered to herself. Chouji stepped out of the clearing, holding his pile of clothes. They blocked his view, seeing as how they came up to his eyes.

"CHOUJI!" Hinata screamed upon seeing the boy enter the clearing. Startled, he dropped his belongings. Chouji's eyes widened. He stood rooted to the spot, and dared not move. Hinata drove her hands into the water, and a column shot up around her. He could still see her silhouette behind the water and his eyes could fill in the blanks. The water fell, and the cap of Hinata's skull was visible above the water, her violet hair drifting lazily around her head. She slowly breathed, and, with her cranium above the water, looked into Chouji's eyes.

"I-I'm sorry, Hinata," he stammered, still processing what he had seen. "Ino said you were washing your clothes…"

Hinata said nothing. Her face was still as red as his. There was a tense silence that lasted several seconds.

"Um, I'm going to go back to Asuma and Ino…my clothes don't really need washing anyway…"

Hinata said nothing.

Chouji stood for several more seconds before he gathered up his clothes and left her.

She slowly rose from the water, leaving her bosom just below the water line. Hinata swept her right hand in an arc in front of her, and sprinted out of the water. The liquid held with her, circling for a short period before her chakra gave and it collapsed. She had reached her clothes by then, and sloppily threw them on. She retrieved the rest of her belongings, and made her way back to the others.

Hinata stood on the opposite side of Chouji, standing instead, next to Ino. Ino noticed her wet hair and slowly made the connection between Chouji's red face, Hinata's red face, and Chouji's unwashed clothes. She grinned to herself, but not before Asuma winked at Chouji.

"Is everyone ready? We'll be spending the next night in Takigakure, so this day should be smooth. Just remember to be polite to everyone you see in the Land of the Waterfall. You'll be representing Konohagakure and all of the Land of Fire." Here Ino rolled her eyes. "All right, let's set off."

The Leaf shinobi, leaving nothing behind besides Hinata's pride and Chouji's innocence, made off to the Land of the Waterfall and Takigakure, planning to spend the rest of the waning day in their guest hospice. The path through the Land of Fire had gone off proved to be without a hitch and the four shinobi soon found themselves deep within the Land of the Waterfall. The day had finally warmed up and had become very nice. Hinata felt weird, as she always did when somewhere new, and stayed on edge. Chouji and Ino were silently obeying the lead of Asuma, who lead the ninjas through the barrage of trees.

"All right, the forest is ending up ahead. Get ready to walk for as long as the rest of the beat to Takigakure."

As if the forest had been eavesdropping, the vast expanse of trees all the way from Konohagakure had ended, and a stretch of carefully plotted roads saw them through a warren of ravines.

"I'm hungry…" Chouji said, as he emptied his last potato chip bag into his mouth. He stuffed the vacant sack into his pocket and looked down at the ground.

"No one cares, Chouji," Ino stated blankly, as she was lost in the murder that comprised Hinata's hair. The said Hyuuga turned her head slightly to identify with the Akimichi, shortly followed by a similar response by the Sarutobi. The Yamanaka lowered her head in defeat to admit her yearning as well, but witnessed a victory come out of it, as the ground was more interesting than the locks of violet, albeit not as pretty. Ino silently pouted and reached up to grab her hair. She half-clutched the ponytail in her left hand, still in a daze.

"It's still there, your highness," Chouji retorted from behind her, still spited about her previous comment, "right above that jiggling thing you call 'toned'."

Ino stopped. She turned around with fire in her eyes to pierce Chouji with unseen fury. "Like you have the right to talk, Fatass!"

Asuma sighed and turned around, upset that Shikamaru wasn't there to calm the warring genin.

"Oh, like starving yourself is any better!"

"Hey! You two are on a team! I have never seen any more despicable behavior among comrades before. You two both need to grow some respect. The sun is already threatening to set. We need to make the next couple of miles before then. Now come on, you two've been on a team for how long, and you still can't get along? Grow up."

'_These two need to get along. They're close to coming to blows, and both would come out fucked up. They may not be strong, but they're matched, and that's the problem. I need to talk to these two tonight, and get some sleep tonight.'_

Ino and Chouji both gave each other one last glare before Ino turned away, and the convoy pressed on. Ino looked back up to stare at Hinata's hair again, and remained as such until the four reached the gates of Takigakure.

"I received a message from Sandaime Hokage that four shinobi − Sarutobi Asuma, Akimichi Chouji, Yamanaka Ino, and Hyuuga Hinata − may be passing through our village sometime around now. Are you these ninjas?"

Asuma stood in front of his troop to address the guard. "Yes, I am Sarutobi Asuma, and here are my genin: Ino, Hinata, and Chouji." He motioned and introduced the members as they stood and they all made small bows to the foreigner. "Whom may I address?"

"My name is Hane. Welcome," he said, and bowed back to the genin.

"Where's the best place to spend the night around here?" Asuma asked, looking around the village.

"There's a great stay down the road and to your left there−" he was motioning with his hands "−at the building with the yellow sign out front. Please, enjoy your visit in Takigakure."

Asuma thanked the man and continued on, leading his team to the building recommended by the watch. "Hey," he said over his shoulder, "did the setup last time suit everyone?"

"Y-yes."

"Yeah."

"Whatever…"

Asuma released a sigh and shook his head a little, bringing his team into the inn. He walked across the semi-squeaky floorboards to reach the front desk, and applied for two rooms, each with two beds.

"Here are your keys, sir," the woman said, handing Asuma his two-pair.

"Thank you, ma'am.

"All right, here we have the girls' room, and our room." Asuma held up the divided keys, and apportioned them appropriately.

The ninjas separated.

Belongings were left and rooms were split as the Leaf nin sought a restaurant.

"A nice, cozy one," Ino inputted, followed by a Chouji response:

"With lots of meat!"

"Hinata?"

"Anything is f-fine, Asuma-sensei."

A small barbeque pit was found, and the ninjas ate to their delight. They returned to their rooms, and settled down for the night. Before the Leaf shinobi set to their accommodations, Chouji and Ino had a nice talk, shepherded by Asuma to resolve their differences, and Hinata politely declined a walk offer by Chouji. Theirs was a long day, and the beds were well needed.

"So, did Chouji see, like, _all_ of it?"

Hinata opted not to dignify the mention with a response.

"Fine. I'm just going to assume he saw _everything_ until you say something."

"…n-not _everyth-ing_…" she called from the bathroom, where she was taking her proper bath.

Ino went to sleep, contented.

Chouji smiled, alone with his dreams as silence accompanied the shinobi. Asuma decided to attribute the contentment with the bed, in opposition to sleeping on the ground.

Hinata returned from the wash, clean and dry, and slipped into her own bed.

'_Finally, I can sleep…'_

Hinata closed her eyes, slowly drifting into sleep.

"Sasuke…" Ino giggled.

**AND** now it is done, one full year of a fanfic. Actually, the fanfic so far has taken place over three days... I really need to pick up the pace! So, please review to help Ino and Chouji get along, and happy Spring Break or Vernal Holiday, whichever you prefer. Goodbye, lovies!


	14. A Sound Visit

**A/N** And We're off to a good start this second year of Good Luck out There's life; there's already another chapter out! This chapter is again brought to you by _grapefruit pirate_, who is proving to be a great choice for beta reader! I am proud to welcome you, the reader, to this next installment, and please, read to your heart's content!

**A SOUND VISIT**

"Where do you suppose they are right now?" a woman asked, sharpening her kunai with a passing rock.

"I figure them to be fully immersed in the Land of the Waterfall by now, though they may have met welcome to the Land of Earth." A man responded, feeling his luxurious white hair in opposition to his normal brown buzz. "I actually think I might," _cough_, "−pardon me− grow out my hair upon returning to Kirigakure."

"So what does that mean?" Jin asked, leaning against a tree. "Their position, not your hair status," he caught himself.

"'Met welcome?' What the fuck does that even…God…It means we need to intercept them when they come back from Iwagakure. It won't be easy." Year threw the kunai at a nearby tree, sinking it in perfectly. She scowled. "We should probably design a plan."

"We should set north, now. They haven't the papers authenticated yet." Gen held a finger in the appropriate direction.

Year drew her map without heed. "We're around here." Year signaled to the heart of the Land of Fire; they were southeast of Konohagakure.

"One of us should station on the south side of Takigakure, they might be passing through there. Another should be patrolling through the Land of the Waterfall, but farther south; the last should be on the border." She pointed using a retrieved kunai.

"Great. Now, let's go."

Year hastily shoved the map into her pack, and the trio of Mist shinobi jumped off the ground, landing on branch above. Year led her team in front of her to the border, pushing them as hard as they could go.

Gen slipped on a bough as he coughed violently and slipped, plummeting to the ground. The other two ninjas stopped abruptly, and Year, not very surprised, closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Hey, Shuon, you ok?" Jin called back, concerned for his fallen comrade.

"Of course he's not ok…" Year mumbled to no one in particular. "You shithead! You didn't check him!"

Gen was on all fours, struggling to breathe. He wrenched his eyes open to look up at Year, who was standing in front of him.

"Shit. You'll die if you keep this up. Go back to Kirigakure, and get back in your body. I think you just cost us the mission, Shuon."

He raised himself up to his shaky feet, and Gen turned around. He ran at full speed through the forest, dodging trees.

'_He didn't check the level of the guy's chakra, shit. He probably just got back from a mission, and was drained.'_

"Hey, Jin," Year cooed.

"Yeah, Ketsu?"

"Was that 'Gen' character the first bastard Shuon saw?"

"Pretty much. I would've had him if Shuon didn't go after him first."

"Then you would be the one near death. He had chakra exhaustion; probably minor, but chakra exhaustion nonetheless."

"Shit, Ketsu."

Year exhaled a long-awaited breath. "It's Year, now."

"Whatever. A day and it'll be Ketsu again."

"Shit. Jin, we're going to have to rethink our approach on this."

"What do you think, Ketsu?"

Year paused while pulling out her map; she gave him a piercing glare. She finished retrieving her chart and spread it out on the ground. "_I_ will be just south of Takigakure, making sure they don't get through the city. _You_ should be at the border, securing it to make sure the targets do not get into the Land of Fire. If that happens, we'd be free game for the might of Konohagakure's army. Keep them in the Land of the Waterfall, and we'd just have to ward off Takigakure's forces."

"But if we attack shinobi of the Leaf, wouldn't they send more to get us?"

"Kirigakure is not at war with Konohagakure, meaning that a team of two attacking a team of four is, in neutral ground, a plan of errs."

"Got it." … "Ketsu?"

"Yes, Jin?"

"If you're keeping them in Takigakure, why do I need to be at the border?"

"Just in case."

"In case you fuck up?"

"Do you want me to kill you?"

"One more thing…" Jin nervously twitted his thumbs.

Year responded with a stare. "I really hate you, Jin."

"If one of us happens to find said team of four, how will we notify the other person?"

Year looked down at her tool pack. "One slash, just one slash and it's over…"

"Ketsu?"

"It's Year! Bitch! We'll each have a tag, if you find the team, detonate the tags! They're fucking smoke flashes!"

"Calm down, Ketsu."

"IT'S FUCKING YEAR!" By this time, she had drawn a kunai, and slipped it to her fingers as an arching arm swept in front of Jin's throat. By the time the knife reached where Jin was, he repositioned himself to a branch directly above his recently vacated location.

"I may be an idiot, but I'm not inept."

Year grimaced.

"So, where are these tags?"

Year hastily shoved her kunai back into her pack, and then fished a bit in the side pouch. She removed one tag, and tossed it up to Jin. It slowly fluttered back down and landed on Year's head; she gave up her anger and fell backwards. Upon feeling her head hit the soft grass, she closed her eyes and rolled over and pushed herself back up to her feet. Bending down, she picked up the tag. A light thump on the soil behind her let Year know that Jin had jumped down, and she handed him the mark.

"Let's set out, Jin."

The two Mist shinobi jumped off from their position to the trees, and raced towards the Land of the Waterfall.

"Do you think Shuon is going to make it all right?" Jin asked as the two jumped from tree to tree.

"Personally, no," Year responded with an audible chill in her voice. "He's a fucking retard for not checking that bastard. Hell, you are for not using a surrogate. Do you know why we use these?"

"Not entirely. I thought it was for chakra training."

"Shit, Jin." Year's temple-vein had found its way to the surface of her forehead. "It's so we can't die.

"You haven't needed to be inside some poor sap in a mission, because you, the three-month Chuunin, haven't been in a life-threatening situation under my command. I gave you the crystal to protect you, Jin."

"Then why didn't you press the issue of a proxy for me at Kirigakure?" Jin asked, now completely concerned for his life, but at the hands of Year.

"Because I don't like you, Jin."

The Mist ninjas flew through the trees at a record pace. Year was able to feel the cool wind against her face, and loved to smell the passing sceneries. Soon, a landmark came up, and she called for the halt of her now-dwindled team.

"Here it is, Jin − the border of the Land of Fire and the Land of the Waterfall. Take it in; you'll be here for the next day or so."

Jin remained quiet, leading Year to feel uncomfortable. She turned to her left to look at the man standing on the branch next to her. He was staring at the ground below the two.

"Hey, retard."

Jin casually looked up from his abysmal gaze. "You can't die?"

Year's eyes softened before opening in lightning-fast shock as she threw herself hard against the trunk behind her, pulling a kunai. She struck with great force, but was able to avoid the man who had dropped from the sky, now standing between Year and Jin.

He looked up to meet her eyes. "I'd like to test that out."

Year looked around to see three more ninjas standing on the ground, surrounding them.

"I'm up here, not that you'll be able to see me soon, anyway!" the man screamed as he charged her, two of his six arms reaching out to grab.

**THAT** was the fourteenth chapter in this story, and I hope I can give you a lot more. Please read and review, as it helps the story flourish! Goodbye for now, and good luck out there!


	15. The Kirigakure Guide to Winning

**A/N** Here is the fifteenth chapter of Good Luck out There, _The Kirigakure Guide to Winning_. _grapefruit pirate _once again beta read this chapter, and I expect_ grapefruit pirate_ to last a long time. Thank you for reading this story, and please review after the chapter. I thank you, reader, and I hope you enjoy this latest installment in Good Luck out There. This is the third chapter of Good Luck out There's second year!

**THE KIRIGAKURE GUIDE TO WINNING**

Year leapt off the branch to her left, toward one of the formerly idle ninjas; this one was a woman. She pulled in her jump, though, threading the near-invisible line through her fingers and around the tree trunk. She swung back and landed, facing the red-haired kunoichi.

"Who are you?" she screamed, accompanied by a laugh from the man up on the branch.

"We are Hell, raised from Otogakure. We are the shades at night, the guardians of the moon. We are Kidoumaru, Jiroubou, Sakon, and Tayuya. We are the Sound Ninja Four, and you're in our way!"

Kidoumaru jumped off the branch at Year, and she moved once again to accommodate his presence. He landed harshly on the ground. "Sakon, Jiroubou, take the other one!" Jin heard the command and jumped himself, fleeing the branch. He landed facing the two aforementioned ninjas. His front was to Year's, if not separated by a shinobi with six arms.

Year looked back over at Tayuya in time to duck down, avoiding a swipe of a kunai. She pushed hard to back away from her opponents, and made a quick hand sign. Large flashes of light were emitted by both Kirigakure shinobi, accompanied by clouds of smoke.

The obstruction cleared to show Year running, far in the distance, and Jin running far in the opposite direction.

"Chase them!" Tayuya yelled, suiting words to action.

'_So they're trying to separate us. That raises their odds slightly, but we still have the overwhelming upper hand!'_

Tayuya and Kidoumaru could see the Mist kunoichi running ahead of them, who quickly dodged behind a tree. Tayuya pushed hard in her next stride to jump up to a branch, upon which she halted abruptly. Kidoumaru kept running, though, to hunt down their target. Tayuya drew her flute and held it steadily to her lips. Her tongue lightly stuck out to wet her lips.

"Tayuya!"

The cry stopped her breath just before it graced her flute.

"What the hell do you want?"

"We lost her!" Kidoumaru leapt up to a branch for a better view.

"Shit, Kidou-" She unexpectedly stopped when a kunai caught the corner of her right eye. Tayuya spun on her heel, moved her flute to block the intrusion, and stumbled, causing her to fall from the branch.

She deftly landed and looked up to see a woman in front of her, poised with a right fist at her face. The fist was inches from breaking Tayuya's nose when three hard punches swept away the danger. Year bounced hard on her side, but caught the ground with her hand to position herself back on her feet.

Jin ran through the trees, hoping Year was faring well in her battle. He looked back to see two ninjas in close pursuit. Upon looking forward, a face before his caused Jin to break hard right. The ninja appeared identical to the make-up clad ninja who was chasing him, but was standing upside-down from a branch. Jin struck a trunk with his back, and faced the three ninjas before him: two with pale skin, green lipstick, and red eyeliner; and a big one with large orange eyes to complement his orange hair.

'Shit, this is bad. I'm a fucking Suiton ninja, not to mention that these two don't seem very interested in hand-to-hand combat.' Year jumped off a branch to avoid a spider web-like object spit at her by the ninja with three arms jutting from each sleeve and a tan complexion. 'That rope around each of their stomachs, I have seen that before,' Year thought as her threads once again aided her to pull Year up from disaster, avoiding yet another web. She released them to land firmly on the ground.

"You're a tricky one to catch, aren't you?" he taunted, jumping down to be at her level.

"I'm getting bored, Kidoumaru. If you can't trap this bitch here, I'll take her down in genjutsu."

Kidoumaru looked up to the red-haired kunoichi who was standing above him on a limb. "Relax Tayuya; I have all of this under control." He slowly gathered chakra in his mouth, and built it into his saliva. Ejecting it from his mouth, the concoction solidified upon reaching oxygen. It took on a golden color, and shaped itself into a sickle. He aimed it carefully at the Kirigakure woman, and threw it with incredible speed. She ducked to allow the weapon to soar over her head, and widened her legs. The second skewer sought to stick her right leg, but Year was able to adjust her position and allow the weapon to implant itself in the ground; bent over, she spun about her left foot. She assembled her chakra into her stuck foot−the next two shots of web struck empty space.

"Shit, you suck, Kidoumaru. Time for you to take a break."

"I'll try to track her down."

"Yeah, good luck with that."

She held her flute up to her lips. A steady breath was taken in, and she was once again cut off by a shout.

"Suiton: Torrent of Rain!"

Rain started to fall on top of the Sound ninja.

"Damn it all!" Tayuya shouted. She sucked in sharply and blew a jet of air across the mouth plate. A sharp noise sang out from her serpentine instrument, and struck every soul within earshot. A loud thud was heard, and Tayuya released her airy grip on reality. She jumped down and sprinted through the trees to collect her find. Kidoumaru was found, struggling against the bonds of his mind. "Release!"

"Watch that thing, Tayuya!" Kidoumaru spat.

"This is why I fight alone! You could have at least paired me with Sakon! You suck as a leader!"

"Would you rather that fuck come back from the brink of death and play with us like a bunch of ragdolls?"

"More so than you, fucker!"

Should the two Sound ninjas have quelled their quarrel, they might have heard a light pad on a bough behind them.

"Mist Tribulation Jutsu" a voice whispered.

Jin was keeping up a good dodging game, constantly forcing the three opposing ninjas to move.

'_I have to avoid the fat one; he's got power.'_

He fell from a tree like the rain from the sky to jump to his right, avoiding a Sakon punch. A firm hand on the trunk of another tree allowed him to hurl his body backwards, avoiding an Ukon heel.

"He's fast, brother!"

"I know, Ukon. Focus!"

Jin planted his heel and forced his chakra into his foot. Allowing a sudden dispel, his body catapulted into the air and arched above Jiroubou. The large Sound ninja drove his heel into the ground. A jut of earth rose up to strike the flying Mist shinobi, but it found air as Jin's chakra-filled right foot caught on a tree branch directly above Jiroubou. He spun himself to the top of the branch, and then jumped up to avoid Ukon, who landed kunai-clad upon that branch. Letting his hand catch the next branch, he forced his body upwards to the next one yet, and allowed Sakon to strike the previous limb. He stood upside-down, lightly treading some leaves, directly above all three Sound ninjas.

"Bye," he cheerily sighed. "Suiton: Gates of Hell!"

His two outstretched arms and his two outfaced palms commanded the falling precipitation around him to a column-like jet protruding from his figure. The hurling water crushed branch and ground alike in its path to destroy all, but Ukon and Sakon and Jiroubou all jumped away in different directions, and all allowed their kunais to fly to the location that Jin occupied.

The three ninjas ended their flight and settled upon the ground, and all three pondered their enemy's location. Jin crouched in the shadows and marveled at the trap he had set up. Three paper bombs laid waiting, and each one detonated nearly simultaneously when the Sound ninjas tread near. Jin jumped out into the clearing and listened. The sound of the explosions was well over, and he heard two bodies hitting the ground, or a tree. One more sounded.

Tayuya and Kidoumaru both slumped to the ground and Year jumped from the branch. She pulled two kunai knives, and looked at the limp figures. "They're in that genjutsu pretty good. This should be easy." She slowly walked up.

**This **chapter is over, and relatively short. The next chapter, however, will be over 2,000 words, so the story isn't slacking off. Please review this to help get the next chapter out sooner! Goodbye for now, reader!


	16. Death of Imperfection

**A/N** I know it's been a while, but here is the 16th chapter of Good Luck out There. I don't have much to say, I'm sorry.

**DEATH OF IMPERFECTION**

Jin still stood in the forest. He looked around, and did not see, nor hear anything out of the ordinary. A kunai suddenly flew out from the trees, and struck Jin in the right shoulder blade. He cried out and stumbled forward, before realizing that a paper bomb tied to the knife was about explode. He tore the metal out from his flesh and hurled it into the darkness. The object made it just out of sight before a large flash blinded him, not to mention the deafening roar of destruction.

"Shit!"

He felt three kicks to his back that sent him forward into a hard punch to the stomach, which sent him backwards, delivered by a large, orange-haired ninja. He seemed different, though, but Jin didn't gain much of a chance to correctly gauge his oddity. He was able to curl in the air and land with two feet solid on a tree. He hurled himself in the air, and looked down at the three waiting ninjas; they all had black marks plaguing their faces, their arms, and their souls.

"This is bad. Their chakra has increased an incredible amount."

Jin arched in the air and landed, facing the shinobi. He felt weak in his abdomen, but stood tall. He quickly made hand signs, and focused upon his adversaries. "Suiton: Slicing Currents!"

Cutting swipes of water attacked the air where the Sound ninja had stood a moment sooner. Ukon, Sakon, and Jiroubou all dodged around, and the former two attacked. Jin leapt into the air when Ukon swept a kick below him, and deflected Sakon's punch aimed at his ribcage. Sakon then used his force to send kicks at Jin, although they were caught as well. Jin caught himself on a low tree branch and used this opportunity to go on the offensive. He spun around himself, and hurled Sakon forward. He then quickly spun back to catch Ukon. A punch was grasped, and Jin pulled the two of them off the branch. Jin was spinning with Ukon as they plummeted to the ground, and he quickly saw the opportunity arise as Ukon and Jiroubou charged from both directions. He pulled a kunai and slashed Ukon's wrists in a fell swoop, and kicked up from him, using Ukon's back as a platform. Unable to defend himself, Ukon found himself hit by a chakra-filled shoulder, and an expertly coordinated punch from the other side.

'_Suiton: Pinpoint Dance.'_

Jin touched upon a raindrop, and was able to send himself backwards to another one. He lightly padded upon the falling water before he allowed himself to land yards away from his opposition. He looked up to see the carnage. He saw the large one called Jiroubou, with black arrow marks all round him and two heads protruding from his back. Slowly, one of the pair of brothers pushed himself out of the beast, taking with him the head of the other. He then stood next to the orange-haired ninja and cracked his knuckles.

"Do me a favor, brother, and kill this bastard."

"You don't have to worry about that, Ukon."

Jin reached back and held his shoulder blade, chastising himself for not seeing the kunai. "What the hell kind of power do you freaks have?"

"Oh, it's really quite simple," Sakon started. He slowly walked towards Jin as he explained: "My brother and I are able to vivisect our very bodies to the cellular level, and mesh them into other beings. Right now, somewhere within my body, my brother's wrists are mending. Because of your childish antics, he has to rest in me. However, your games are now over. It is our turn. For you see, I am second in command of our little five-man squad behind Kidoumaru, meaning I am in control of our little get-together. Do you know what that means, Mist scum? I am in control of your life right now. I know when you live; I know when you die. Even Fatso over there responds to me. Nothing you can do will change the fact that you inevitably die. I, then, am not playing God. You are going to die. I am playing Son of God, God's right hand. I am that role in this play, in where I decide not only when, but also how you die. The only thing I do not have a say in is why, but I think you know that. Therefore, only one thing remains – farewells." Sakon finished his speech, and was now a foot in front of Jin. He methodically brought up a knife and placed the cold, unforgiving blade against the side of Jin's neck.

Year slowly walked up to Kidoumaru and Tayuya, holding the knives in a ski-pole fashion. She knelt between the two and raised her arms. Bringing them down hard, four hard punches to her stomach stopped Year. She flew backwards, and caught herself on her heels. Her adversaries had black blots covering their visages.

"What is this crap?" Year spat to herself. "I know you're Orochimaru's henchmen, I fought him outside our village the day of the Kaguya massacre. He had that stupid rope around his stomach; it actually worked well as a handle. Is this some sick jutsu he's put you to?"

"How did you survive in a fight against Lord Orochimaru?" Tayuya queried, standing up straighter.

"I didn't."

Kidoumaru fidgeted a little at that. "This is his brilliance you're seeing. Our Curse Seals give us increased chakra, the likes of which you can't understand."

"Too bad you won't be able to tell him of your great victory with his Curse Seal."

Year threw her two kunai, one after another, and with incredible force. Both were aimed at Tayuya, who easily blocked the first with her flute. The second kunai struck the end of the first, which was still pointed directly at the chip it made before. It drove into the instrument even more, and breached its metal hull.

"Now you can't use it to trap me, bitch."

Tayuya looked down at her flute, and then slowly back up at Year. "That was a mistake." Tayuya dropped her useless hunk of metal, her skin started to turn into a deep brown, and horns emerged from her skull. She charged Year as fast as she could, and jumped at her. As soon as Tayuya's feet left the ground, Year revealed a palmed tag. She looked intently into the other kunoichi's eyes, and whispered to herself. "Mist Tribulation." The falling water cast a genjutsu upon Tayuya who quickly fell unconscious.

Year slipped her arm under Tayuya's own and slapped her chest, leaving a paper bomb between her bosoms. Year dodged Tayuya's falling body and was able to pick out Kidoumaru moving to her right. She tucked under a punch and fled up to a branch. Kidoumaru quickly followed suit, and Year pushed backwards off the branch. She felt the invisible thread between her fingers slipping, and pulled on them to throw herself forward, away from the six-armed ninja who had jumped off as well. As Year swung forward, a very sharp pain in her stomach erupted. She released her grip upon the cord and fell hard to the ground. Kidoumaru knelt before her, and looked victorious with his knife implanted in her abdomen. He fiddled with the shard, ripping apart Year's skin.

"I'm not as stupid as you think," he mocked, and turned on a heel to walk towards Tayuya.

Year lay, bleeding out, and gave one last effort to sit up. "Do you know why you're going to die, here? It is because I am willing to do something you cannot even imagine. I am willing to die to kill you."

Kidoumaru stopped and turned slightly to look at her with a hint of fear. "You wouldn't dare."

She heaved upon her strings, which tripped Kidoumaru. He fell as a felled tree, and watched as a staggering Year sped past him, making a hand sign that initiated a familiar hissing sound around Tayuya. With blurred vision, Year managed to leap upon the limp body of the other genjutsu empress.

'_Year's body is not going to last any longer.'_

Year once again pulled, dragging Kidoumaru towards the impending death. Kidoumaru made a quick swipe of his knife to slice the binds, and swiftly returned to his feet to jump as high as he could in the air. From a safe branch, he witnessed an explosion engulf the two kunoichi.

"Pity about Tayuya. I better go check on Dumb, Dumber, and that Lardass."

"Goodbye." Sakon swung out his arm, and brought it back hard, his dagger pointed straight at Jin's throat. The metal pierced as a dead weight in water−that is exactly what it was. Jin's body broke formation completely and flooded the surrounding grass.

"Was that his blood? Is it over?" Ukon asked, not bothered to open his eyes while his head protruded from the focus of his brother's thorax vertebrae.

"No. No, Ukon, it wasn't. He used a water clone."

Ukon looked up. He saw trees. He saw Jiroubou, standing and staring at the brothers. He saw a glint in the trees.

"Behind!"

Both shinobi spun on their heels, and Sakon pushed forward as hard as he could. His kunai still branded, he stabbed at the object. Two arms caught Sakon's and two more grabbed his throat. "Where is he?"

Kidoumaru dropped the brothers when he received his answer. Jiroubou let out a yell, falling to his knees, and Jin stood behind him: purple fingers dug into Jiroubou's back. Jin kicked backwards, and landed upon a trunk, wielding his violet right hand like a weapon.

Jiroubou fell to all fours, and felt a cold sweat break over him.

Jin was looking at his new adversary, staring him down. A thin wire cut his contest short as they restricted his arms and body to the tree. "Is it poison your fingers contain?" a cold voice asked. "Does it have restrictions?"

Sakon walked around the tree and promptly pushed his arm into Jin's chest. His body turned as his arm found its way through Jin's body. Fingers emerged from Jin's right forearm and firmly grasped his wrist. "Oh, I feel that. Well, my friend, my chakra paths are now controlling your right hand, not yours; do not try to cancel it. This is very odd, though; I thought that madcap Yagura, your great Lord Mizukage ordered a destruction of all clans with threatening Kekkei Genkai within Kirigakure after that Kaguya massacre. Maybe yours were not thought of as 'threatening.'"

"You are very mouthy. Your friend is still dying over there." Jin nodded to Jiroubou, now fully upon the ground.

"I don't care about him. Hell I don't care about Kidoumaru, or… where's Tayuya?"

Kidoumaru looked over at him before he spoke. "Suicide bomb."

"Well, this sort of counts as suicide, I guess." Sakon, with a swift pull, ripped Jin's hand off, and was now holding it in his. He held the hand up to Jin's face, and lightly traced the poisonous Kekkei Genkai against his cheek. He moved down to Jin's shirt, and placed the fingers pointed at Jin's heart. He pushed softly, burning away the fabric of Jin's shirt. Jin looked up at him and laughed.

"This is funny, I see. Here, I'll go a little harder." Sakon did as he said, and forced the tips of the fingers into Jin's chest. He moved them around in a little circle, taunting the Mist shinobi, until they made the final plunge. The fingers poisoned his flesh, and started to destroy his heart. Sakon pulled out the hand, separated it from his, and dropped it, poison free, upon the ground. Jin's head slumped. "I'll need this back." Sakon released the wires, and Jin fell next to his arm. Sakon turned and walked back to Kidoumaru.

"You are mouthy," Kidoumaru said. He looked down at Jiroubou when the larger man coughed. Jiroubou struggled to his knees, and subsequently his feet. "Why are you better?"

A sharp pain caused Kidoumaru to fall to his knees. He felt blood trickle down the back of his legs as a kunai from Jin flew overhead.

Kidoumaru's wound was as a fly landing on the elephant of Jin's: a pseudo-sword of bone through his head.

**Here **is the end. I hope you liked it, because I enjoyed writing it. I am going to continue to write this regardless of the response to my next question, but if you read this fanfiction, or just now read it and even slightly liked it, please let me know. I would like to know if this fanfiction is more than just me writing, but whether or not I can entertain someone. Thanks


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